Tag Archives: Dubai International Airport

Innovative Hyperloop connections could reduce travel times between Dubai International Airport (DXB) and Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC) by around 34 minutes in future, according to experts who spoke during a panel discusion on Arabian Travel Market’s Global Stage. Providing a lightening-speed Hyperloop transit system would allow airport passengers to travel between both airports in as little as six to seven minutes – a shorter transit time than travelling between terminals at Dubai International Airport. The future of Hyperloop and travel infrastructure in the UAE and wider GCC was discussed at Arabian Travel Market, at Dubai World Trade Centre, during a seminar session entitled ‘Future Travel Experiences’. Virgin Hyperloop One, a futuristic transportation concept through which pods, propelled by magnets and solar, will move passengers and cargo at speeds of 1,200kph, is the most prominent tourism infrastructure development in the UAE at present. Backed by Dubai-based DP World, Hyperloop One has the potential to transport approximately 3,400 people an hour, 128,000 people a day and 24 million people a year. In November 2016, Dubai’s Road and Transport Authority (RTA) announced plans to evaluate a hyperloop connection between Dubai and Abu Dhabi, which could reduce travel times between the two emirates by 78 minutes.

Emirates is set to resume its flights between Dubai and Istanbul’s Sabiha Gokcen Airport, starting June 8, 2018. The resumption of services on the route will allow customers two destination options when travelling to Istanbul. The flight will be operated five times a week by an Emirates Boeing 777-300ER in a three-class cabin configuration, with eight private suites in First Class, 42 lie-flat seats in Business Class and 310 spacious seats in Economy Class. Together with Emirates’ other service to Istanbul, the airline will offer 16 flights, catering to both tourism and business traffic. The aircraft allows for an increase in cargo capacity to Istanbul, with a weekly total of 100 tonnes, making Emirates the only airline operating a scheduled service with a wide-body aircraft at Sabiha Gokcen Airport. Emirates flight EK119 will depart Dubai at 10:00hrs and arrive in Istanbul at 13:45hrs. The return flight EK120 will leave Istanbul at 15:35 hrs and arrive in Dubai at 21:00 hrs. The new timing allows customers from Istanbul to seamlessly connect to Emirates’ flights at Dubai International Airport to popular destinations like Bangkok, Shanghai, Seoul, and cities across Australia.

Passenger traffic at the Dubai International Airport (DXB) reached 6,953,596 in November compared to 6,581,805 recorded in the corresponding month in 2016, an increase of 5.6 per cent, as per a latest report. Year to date, passenger numbers at DXB have risen 5.8 per cent to 80,387,442 compared to 75,947,899 recorded during the same period in 2016. This upward trend in passenger traffic has been continuing during the past year at Dubai Airports. Once again, the most significant contribution to passenger numbers came from the Indian Subcontinent and Western Europe. The two regions were up 7.5 per cent and 8 per cent respectively, and more than 1.5 million passengers travelled through DXB from each region in November. These figures were reflected in the top cities, where London (310,551) and Mumbai (217,279) were the highest. For the first time in four months, Saudi Arabia (534,906) climbed to the second spot in terms of passenger numbers by country, moving in front of the UK (507,796). India (999,625) remained the top destination country for Dubai International. November’s flight movement figures at DXB totalled 33,421 down 3.7 per cent on 2016, however the average number of passengers per flight during the month remained high at 215, up 7.3 per cent year on year.

Passenger traffic at Dubai International Airport reached 8,233,311 in August 2017 compared to 7,727,105 recorded in the same month last year, an increase of 6.6 per cent. As per the monthly traffic report of Dubai Airports, the year-to-date traffic totalled 59,353,368 passengers up 6.3 per cent compared to 55,851,148* recorded during the first eight months of 2016. During August, in terms of passenger volumes, India remained the top destination country with 1,044,730 passengers in August, followed by the UK (611,254 passengers) and Saudi Arabia (610,434 passengers). South America (27.4%) was the fastest expanding market in terms of percentage growth followed by Asia (21.9%), and Eastern Europe (18.8%). London was the top destination city with 377,130 passengers followed closely by Kuwait (284,151 passengers) and Mumbai (211,564 passengers). The average number of passengers per flight during the month remained high at 246, up 7.2% compared to 229 recorded in August 2016. Paul Griffiths, CEO, Dubai Airports, said, “We are very pleased with the way things are shaping up this year, not only in terms of growth, which has been robust with passenger numbers exceeding the 8-million mark three times – in January, July and August, but also with our success in significantly enhancing the airport experience with initiatives such as the launch of the world’s fastest free airport Wi-Fi, streaming entertainment service ICFlix, quicker passport control and shorter wait times in queues thanks to cutting edge technology.”

Passenger traffic at Dubai International Airport (DXB) surpassed 43 million in the first half of 2017, according to the traffic report issued by operator Dubai Airports. DXB handled a total of 43,054,268 passengers during the first half, up by 6.3 per cent from the corresponding period in 2016 when the airport welcomed 40,507,251 passengers. The traffic in June alone reached 6,084,674, up by 3.9 per cent from the 5,857,503 travellers that accessed the airport during the same month last year. The relatively modest growth was the outcome of the holy month of Ramadan falling in June, a traditionally slow month. The top country destination in terms of total passenger volumes at DXB in these six months was India with 5,943,359 Indian travellers, on its heels was Saudi Arabia with 3,108,492 travellers accessing the airport in H1. The maximum percentage growth in the number of travellers from a particular region was seen by South America, which had 36.4 per cent more of its travellers transiting at DXB in H1 of 2017. Top cities by passenger volumes include London (1,893,038 passengers), followed by Mumbai (1,205,504 passengers), then Bangkok (1,037,606 passengers) and thereafter New Delhi (1,016,183 passengers). While passenger traffic increased, flight movements at DXB saw a slight decrease in the first half of this year with a total of 205,996, against 207,970 recorded during the same period in 2016, a marginal contraction of 0.9 per cent.

Dubai International Airport welcomed 6.8 million customers during May, according to the monthly traffic report issued by operator Dubai Airports. In May 2017, passenger numbers at DXB rose by 1.9 per cent to 6,850,052 compared to 6,721,995 recorded in May 2016. During the first five months of 2017, DXB welcomed 36,969,594 passengers, a year-on-year growth of 6.7 per cent compared to 34,649,748 passengers recorded during the same period last year. “Considering that we’ve had some record breaking months earlier in the year, including the rush of travellers during the summer holiday and Eid break last week, we are looking forward to a robust growth in the first half,” said Paul Griffiths, CEO, Dubai Airports.

Dubai International Airport Terminal 3 has announced the introduction of biometric system and automated border control gates within 12-18 months to make the check-in and immigration processes there smoother and quicker. The biometric system will help the travellers register and store their biometric data using a facial recognition solution integrated with the UAE Wallet, and that data can then be utilised to ease their journey through immigration at T3 departures, and later on, at other touch-points throughout the airport. It will also help to provide automated access to Emirates’ First- and Business-Class lounges. The smart border control or immigration gates will supplement the existing e-gates and manned immigration counters and help to skip the manual checking of travellers’ passports and boarding passes as they would use the biometric data to validate all the information.

Now skip the queues and experience a completely relaxed exit from one of the world’s busiest airports, Dubai International Airport. The 530-key Dubai International Hotel, located at Terminal 3, invites passengers to experience a luxurious and hassle-free departure from the Airport, with Ahlan Services. Ahlan Services, DXB International’s concierge service, has now expanded its services to include ‘Deluxe’ and ‘Premium’ Departure Services for passengers looking for a luxurious exit from Dubai, from Terminals 1 and 3. Passengers need not be guests of the hotel to opt for this service. Also to be noted is that the services are not available at Terminal 2 or Dubai World Central (DWC). Priced at AED 150 per person, the Deluxe Meet and Greet Departure Service provides a Guest Services Agent and a Bellboy who meet the guest at the airport’s departure drop-off point. The guest is then fast-tracked through the Check-in Counter, towards Immigration/Passport Control, through Security Check, and finally guided to the boarding gate of their flight. This service is priced at AED 315 for a family of four, with additional AED 85 per additional member. Ahlan’s Premium Meet and Greet Departure Services, priced at AED 295 per person, offers a guest, in addition to all the features offered with the Deluxe Services, the opportunity to relax at the plush Ahlan Departures’ Lounge at Terminal 1 or 3, with complimentary refreshments (hot and cold buffet), a wide selection of beverages, access to the Business Centre facilities, and also shower facilities to freshen up. Guests can also avail a complimentary 15-minute foot massage, back massage or Indian head massage at the Timeless Spa.

Emirates has launched an additional privilege to extend the usage of its luxury lounges at Dubai International Airport to its Loyalty Programme members and their guests at a minimal fee regardless of their class of travel. The pay-per-visit access will be available to Emirates Skywards members and their guests travelling on Emirates. Business Class travellers now also have the option to pay an upgrade fee to access the First Class lounges. Dubai International Airport is home to seven Emirates lounges spread over three concourses – A, B and C. In each of the concourses there is a dedicated Emirates First Class and Business Class lounge. Eligible guests can access the Emirates Business Class lounges in Dubai for a fee of $100 and the Emirates First Class lounges for a fee of $200. Business Class customers can also upgrade to First Class lounge access for a fee of $100. Guests who have paid a fee for entry can stay for up to four hours. Currently, First and Business Class customers as well as Silver, Gold and Platinum Skywards members receive complimentary access to the lounges in Dubai. “Our premium lounges here at our hub in Dubai are some of the best in the world and we are pleased that more of our customers can now experience them. We made the decision to expand access to our lounges in Dubai based on our customer feedback, and after a careful review to ensure that the same quality experience can be maintained. We are pleased to see many of our customers appreciate the opportunity to be able to pay for their additional guests and access the lounge which enables them to enjoy a relaxing …

After resuming departure operations at 18.30 hours UAE local time on August 3, Dubai Airports commenced arrival operations at Dubai International Airport (DXB) under restricted capacity following an operational incident involving an Emirates flight EK521 from Trivandrum (India). According to a Dubai Aiports spokesperson, DXB is operating with one runway, with arriving flights being given priority over departures. While all 282 passengers and 18 crew on board were brought to safety, one member of Dubai Airports’ firefighting team succumbed to injuries sustained whilst responding to the incident. Paul Griffiths, CEO, Dubai Airports, said, “I am deeply saddened to confirm that a member of Dubai Airports’ firefighting team succumbed to injuries sustained whilst responding to the accident of flight EK 521 earlier this afternoon [August 3]. We are doing all we can to support the family of this member of our team and others affected by the incident.” The Emirates Airline confirmed a network wide delay and cancellation of 21 flights from Dubai on August 3 to various destinations such as Mumbai, Kolkata, Medina, Doha, Geneva, Tehran, Muscat, Multan, Bahrain, Dammam, Basra, Karachi, Kuwait, Amman, Riyadh, and Hong Kong. Emirates flight EK521 travelling from Trivandrum International Airport in Thiruvananthapuram, India to Dubai on August 3 was involved in an operational incident upon landing at DXB. The Boeing 777 aircraft, departed at 10.19 AM from Trivandrum International Airport and was scheduled to land at 12.50 PM at DXB. A Dubai Airports spokesperson said, “Operational teams across the terminals at DXB and DWC are doing their best to assist arriving and departing passengers. To ensure the comfort of passengers waiting for their flights, all food outlets across DXB and DWC are providing free …