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28 March 2024

Dubai to cut time on airport formalities

Published
By Mohammad El Sadafy

Dubai International Airport expects to cut by half the time taken by arriving and departing passengers to complete formalities, according to Major General Mohammed Al Marri, Director of the General Department of Residency and Foreigners Affairs.

But the time taken to complete arrival formalities at all the three terminals of the airport cannot be same because of differing distances from the place of arrival to the immigration counter, he added.

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has instructed that the movement of travellers, especially tourists, through Dubai Airport should be speeded up, said General Al Marri in exclusive statements to Emirates 24/7.

"We have already taken many steps to reduce congestion in the arrival halls, particularly in the morning. The morning shift now starts at 6am instead of the earlier 7.30am and 10 officers have been added to the staff,” he said.

Administrators have been undergoing training in faster check-in of travellers, particularly during the busy morning hours, he said.

The idea of rotating airport officers to enable them to work in different places and conditions, has been adopted. Shifting officers to terminals experiencing congestion has helped speed up arrival and departure formalities, he added.

Al Marri said shifting of the eye scanning device to the passport counter has also helped reduce the time for airport procedures.

Speaking on traffic congestion on the Hatta-Oman and Dibba-Musandam roads, Al Marri attributed this to increase in the number of private cars and buses travelling between UAE and Oman.

Staff has been increased to help in the movement of vehicles and reduce traffic jams. However, the Dibba-Musandam route comes under the emirate of Fujairah, he pointed out.

A new building is being built at the Hatta border to help reduce traffic congestion. It is expected to be opened by January 2013, he added.