With Dubai International Airport (DXB) expecting record post-holiday traffic from 2–5 January, Emirates has issued a detailed advisory asking travellers—many of them India-bound—to arrive at least four hours before departure and clear immigration 90 minutes prior to boarding .
The airline recommends pre-registering for DXB’s biometric Smart Gates and using city or home check-in services to avoid terminal congestion. Passengers using the Dubai International Financial Centre bag-drop are being offered 2,500 Skywards miles per traveller, an incentive likely to appeal to frequent business fliers returning to Indian metros after the New Year break.
For travellers who discover at the last minute that their onward journey requires additional documentation—say, an e-visa for India—VisaHQ can take the paperwork off your hands. The firm’s online platform (https://www.visahq.com/india/) lets individual passengers and corporate travel managers upload passports, track status, and receive visas by courier, turning a potential queue at a consulate into a quick digital task.
![Emirates warns India-bound passengers of peak-season queues at Dubai International, offers smart-gate tips]()
Corporate mobility teams should flag the advisory to employees transiting through Terminal 3, as missed connections could cascade into project delays. DXB handled 7.6 million passengers in January 2025 and expects to exceed that figure this week, according to airport operator Dubai Airports.
Emirates also reiterated its updated restricted-items list, highlighting stricter rules on carriage of power banks—an area where Indian travellers have faced confiscations. The carrier is running additional shuttle trains between concourses and has reinstated buggy services for premium passengers.
Travel buyers are advising employees to leverage home check-in or schedule meetings a day after arrival to cushion against potential immigration bottlenecks.
The airline recommends pre-registering for DXB’s biometric Smart Gates and using city or home check-in services to avoid terminal congestion. Passengers using the Dubai International Financial Centre bag-drop are being offered 2,500 Skywards miles per traveller, an incentive likely to appeal to frequent business fliers returning to Indian metros after the New Year break.
For travellers who discover at the last minute that their onward journey requires additional documentation—say, an e-visa for India—VisaHQ can take the paperwork off your hands. The firm’s online platform (https://www.visahq.com/india/) lets individual passengers and corporate travel managers upload passports, track status, and receive visas by courier, turning a potential queue at a consulate into a quick digital task.
Corporate mobility teams should flag the advisory to employees transiting through Terminal 3, as missed connections could cascade into project delays. DXB handled 7.6 million passengers in January 2025 and expects to exceed that figure this week, according to airport operator Dubai Airports.
Emirates also reiterated its updated restricted-items list, highlighting stricter rules on carriage of power banks—an area where Indian travellers have faced confiscations. The carrier is running additional shuttle trains between concourses and has reinstated buggy services for premium passengers.
Travel buyers are advising employees to leverage home check-in or schedule meetings a day after arrival to cushion against potential immigration bottlenecks.
