Last week, Dubai Airports welcomed the resumption of scheduled operations by 13 international carriers at Dubai International (DXB), including the following: Air Blue, Air France, Cebu Pacific, EgyptAir, Ethiopian Airlines, Gulf Air, KLM, Lufthansa, Mahan Air, Middle East Airlines, Pakistan International Airlines, Philippine Airlines and Royal Jordanian.

 

As previously reported, a selection of cafes, restaurants and retail outlets are open throughout the airport. In Terminal 3, arrivals, customers can change currency at Travelex, shop at Dubai Duty Free and Le Clos or have a coffee at Costa.

 

For travellers departing DXB, there are a number of options in Terminal 3’s B-gates, including dining at FIX, The Daily DXB and The Hangar or shopping at Dubai Duty Free, Boots or H&M. At Terminal 2 services available include Travelex currency exchange, Boots and selected cafes and restaurants, including Starbucks, Subway and McDonalds.

 

While more foreign airlines are expected to join in the coming weeks and months, DXB-based Emirates airline and flydubai have boosted their schedules.

 

‘EARLY STEPS’ BY GOVERNMENT PRAISED

“We have ensured everything is in place to welcome airlines from around the world back to Dubai as a growing number of bilateral agreements between countries conclude to facilitate the opening of borders and the gradual return of traffic,” said Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports.

“Our ability to resume passenger operations has been enabled by the significant and early steps the UAE government took to tackle the threat of the spread of the virus, together with the robust health and safety measures in place at DXB, and the excellent advanced healthcare services available here in Dubai.

 

“We remain in close discussions with government officials and airlines to support the resumption of additional services as approvals are granted in the weeks and months ahead. The message is that we are ready to welcome visitors back to Dubai and we will do our utmost to take care of them whilst they are here.”

 

As services resume passengers are being advised to always confirm their terminal of departure and arrival with their airline prior to coming to the airport as some carriers may have temporarily changed terminals.

 

Passengers will be required to wear the appropriate personal protective equipment (masks and gloves) and arrive to the airport no less than two hours, but no greater than four hours before their flight to allow time for any additional screening measures.

 

In order to maintain public safety and physical distancing requirements, travellers without confirmed tickets, passengers without proper protective equipment, and passengers who arrive to the airport earlier than 4 hours before their scheduled departure time will not be permitted to enter the terminal buildings.

 

Precautionary measures continue to be in place throughout the airport to maintain the health and safety of customers and staff. These measures include protective plexiglass at check-in and immigration counters, thermal and temperature screening, physical distancing markers and increased levels of sanitisation in compliance with international standards set out by the relevant authorities.