Dubai Airports has issued a passenger advisory alerting travellers about Dubai International (DXB) getting exceptionally busy over the next two weeks as a result of schools breaking for summer and the Eid Al Adha holidays.

According to the operator, some 2.4 million passengers are expected to pass through DXB between June 24 and July 4, with average daily traffic reaching 214,000 passengers.

July 2nd is expected to be the busiest day with daily traffic exceeding 235,000 passengers. Similar passenger numbers are anticipated at the airport over the Eid Al Adha weekend of July 8 and 9.

While Dubai Airports is working closely with airlines, control authorities, and commercial and service partners to ensure a smooth airport experience for passengers from kerb to boarding gates, the operator has urged travellers to follow a few simple tips to beat the holiday rush:

Be aware of the latest travel regulations for the destination you are travelling to and ensure that you have all the necessary documents with the required validity before reaching the airport. For those travelling with families, children over the age of 12 can use Smart Gates to speed up the passport control process.

If you are flying out of Terminal 1, arrive at the airport no earlier than 3 hours before your departure.

Use online check in wherever available to save time.

Those travelling from Terminal 3 can use Emirate’s convenient early and self-service check-in facilities.

Weighing luggage at home, checking documents in advance, and being prepared for security checks can save a lot of time at the airport.

Use Dubai Metro to get to and from the airport. Metro operating times are extended during Eid holidays.

Friends and families are advised to use the airport’s designated car parks or valet service to receive their guests in comfort as access to the arrivals forecourt in Terminal 3 is limited to public transport and other authorised vehicles.

DXB’s performance has been impressive in the first five months of 2022 despite the reduction in capacity resulting from the 45-day closure of the northern runway for the rehabilitation project.

The airport clocked 13.6m in passenger traffic in the first quarter of 2022 and forecast for the year indicate that DXB will more than double its annual traffic from 29.1m in 2021 to 58.7m passengers this year.

Meanwhile the Dubai Airports marked the World Environment Day by kicking off a new waste management initiative that will play an integral role delivering on its commitment to keep 60 per cent of all waste from Dubai International (DXB) from entering landfills by the middle of 2023.

As part of the new programme, the operator has implemented an innovative food waste treatment plan which is expected to capture and compost more than 2,000 tonnes of food waste annually from food and beverage outlets, lounges and hotels across DXB terminals and concourses.

Decomposing food waste in landfills results in the emission of methane gas which is 72 times more harmful to the environment than CO2.

The innovative new food waste plan was created in partnership with Dubai Airports’ waste management partner BEEAH Group, the Sharjah-based sustainability pioneer. It uses a special high-tech biodigester compost system installed in multiple locations across DXB that dramatically increases the speed at which food waste breaks down and becomes reusable compost and clean wastewater. The DXB waste diversion strategy is designed to sustain a resilient waste management system that identifies the least economic, environmental, and social impact methods to capture, treat, reuse, or recycle all forms of waste. To date, the programme has already achieved greater than 40 per cent reduction in waste, including a special initiative that captures 100 per cent of all cooking oil used in airport F&B outlets and converts it to biodiesel fuel. “Capturing and diverting all forms of waste from landfills is a strategically important component of our waste management programme. While airport operations contribute a very small percentage of the overall waste generated at DXB, we are working in close partnership with airlines, F&B facilities, and all other partners across the airport to make a unified commitment to achieving and surpassing our 60 per cent waste reduction objective,” said Jamal Zaal, Vice President of Safety and Sustainability at Dubai Airports.

“BEEAH Group is committed to being Dubai Airports’ partner to create a range of innovative new programmes to capture and find a useful purpose for all forms of waste in the most practical and impactful ways possible.

WAM