Dubai-based carrier Emirates has issued an urgent travel advisory as it braces for one of the busiest weeks of the year at Dubai International Airport (DXB). Between 2 and 5 January the airline expects a sharp spike in both departures and arrivals as residents return from year-end holidays and visitors flood the city for post-New-Year events.
Customers are being asked to arrive at least four hours before departure and to factor in heavier-than-usual road traffic, scarce car-park space and longer immigration queues. Emirates is encouraging passengers to complete online check-in, drop bags early at city check-in facilities in DIFC or Ajman, and consider the Dubai Metro to bypass road closures around Downtown fireworks sites.
Travelers who still need to secure the right visa can streamline the process through VisaHQ; the service’s dedicated UAE portal (https://www.visahq.com/united-arab-emirates/) offers swift online applications, real-time status tracking, and courier options that help ensure documents are in order well before arrival at DXB.
![Emirates Warns of Heavy Airport Congestion 2–5 January, Urges Four-Hour Check-In]()
To ease the crunch, Emirates and airport operator Dubai Airports have opened additional smart-gate lanes and staffed extra counters for manual passport control. Travellers connecting onward are advised to schedule layovers of at least four hours to avoid missed flights if security queues lengthen.
For corporate travel managers the advisory is a red flag: company travel policies may need temporary amendments to mandate earlier airport arrival and to authorise taxi-fare surcharges caused by rerouted traffic. Mobility teams moving groups or rotational crews this week should push real-time alerts to travellers’ mobile apps and remind them that failure to clear immigration an hour before departure can trigger no-show penalties.
Emirates has sweetened the advice with 2,500 Skywards bonus miles for customers who use its city check-in store through 15 January, offering a modest incentive to shift footfall away from DXB’s peak hours.
Customers are being asked to arrive at least four hours before departure and to factor in heavier-than-usual road traffic, scarce car-park space and longer immigration queues. Emirates is encouraging passengers to complete online check-in, drop bags early at city check-in facilities in DIFC or Ajman, and consider the Dubai Metro to bypass road closures around Downtown fireworks sites.
Travelers who still need to secure the right visa can streamline the process through VisaHQ; the service’s dedicated UAE portal (https://www.visahq.com/united-arab-emirates/) offers swift online applications, real-time status tracking, and courier options that help ensure documents are in order well before arrival at DXB.
To ease the crunch, Emirates and airport operator Dubai Airports have opened additional smart-gate lanes and staffed extra counters for manual passport control. Travellers connecting onward are advised to schedule layovers of at least four hours to avoid missed flights if security queues lengthen.
For corporate travel managers the advisory is a red flag: company travel policies may need temporary amendments to mandate earlier airport arrival and to authorise taxi-fare surcharges caused by rerouted traffic. Mobility teams moving groups or rotational crews this week should push real-time alerts to travellers’ mobile apps and remind them that failure to clear immigration an hour before departure can trigger no-show penalties.
Emirates has sweetened the advice with 2,500 Skywards bonus miles for customers who use its city check-in store through 15 January, offering a modest incentive to shift footfall away from DXB’s peak hours.
