Flying to Dubai | Flights to Dubai

Dubai Airports & Dubai Airlines

Dubai's main airport is the Dubai International Airport. You can also enter Dubai by using Sharjah International Airport (SHJ) in the nearby emirate of Sharjah and Abu Dhabi International Airport (AUH) in nearby Abu Dhabi. Frequent visitors from countries granted automatic visa on entry may wish to purchase an e-gate card to speed up immigration formalities and save passport pages. The e-gate card office is situated in the upstairs foodcourt area of the terminal 1 departures concourse. The card will cost AED 200. Note: If you intend to buy an e-gate card in Dubai, you must have entered UAE via Dubai airport.

Airlines are often having price wars to glamorous destinations like Dubai and this can work to your advantage by careful planning and comparison of the various airlines serving Dubai. Emirates is Dubai's official airline carrier which connects Dubai to over 100 destinations while FlyDubaiis Dubai's low-cost carrier. Etihad has shuttle services from their exclusive check in facility in Sheikh Zayed Road or Central Business District of Dubai to and from Abu Dhabi Int'l Airport, you can also fly with Sharjah's low-cost carrier; Air Arabia which flies to over 46 destinations within the Middle East.

Information

Dubai International Airport (IATA: DXB) is the largest hub in the Middle East and the home base of Dubai's flag carrier Emirates and its low-cost wing FlyDubai. In fact, it has grown at such a furious pace that the present terminals are bursting at the seams, especially during the peak hours around midnight.

The Dubai International Airport has three terminals and another one in the making as of end 2010.

• Terminal 1 is the main terminal, used by most major airlines and long-haul flights.
• Terminal 2 serves regional and low-cost flights, including all FlyDubai flights.
• Terminal 3 is used exclusively by Emirates.

Terminals 1 and 3 are directly connected to each other via the airside (no immigration needed for transfer), while Terminal 2 is located at the other end of the airport. Terminals 1 and 3 are models of modern airport design, but Terminal 2 despite the recent renovations, is still reminiscent of developing world airports, with long check-in lines, queue-jumping and every other passenger checking in 70 kg of luggage.

Shuttle buses between the three run every 20-30 min. However shuttles to Terminal 2 are sporadic at best, so a 30 min taxi ride may be your only option. A low-cost option for traveling to Terminal 2 is to catch the metro to a nearby station, such as GGICO metro station, and from there catch a taxi to Terminal 2.

The airport is famous for its duty-free shopping; however, prices in the airport's duty-free stores are equal or higher than what you can find in the many malls of the city.

Alcohol here is very cheap, though. Alcohol is also available at an inbound duty free store situated in the baggage reclaim area. The amount of alcoholic beverages and beers should not exceed 4 liters of alcohol beverages, or 2 cartons of beer (each consisting of 24 cans, not exceeding 355 ml for each can or its equivalent).

Taxi: Most visitors will opt for public taxis from the airport, which are readily available just outside arrivals, which use the meter and start at Dhs 25. Taxis are on the left when you come out of terminal 1.

Public transport: Terminals 1 and 3 are served by the Dubai Metro. There are also buses just steps from the baggage claim, the most useful for visitors being lines 401 and 402 (Dhs 3), which go to the Al Sabkha and Al Ghubaiba bus terminals respectively.

Apart from the Dubai International Airport, Dubai is also developing the massive Al Maktoum International Airport located close to Jabel Ali within the Dubai World Central project. As of end 2010 only a few freighters are operating through this airport but commercial flights are expected to operate from this airport once completed, making this airport one of the busiest air hub for both cargo and passenger transportaion.

Sharjah International Airport

Sharjah International Airport (IATA: SHJ) is located in the emirate of Sharjah. It is only 30 min by road from Dubai and takes an increasing number of international flights as Dubai airport struggles to keep up with demand. Be aware that during morning rush hour from Sharjah and afternoon rush hour into Sharjah, travel times to cross the border between the two emirates normally run more than one hour and can run over two hours.

Traffic can be bad between Sharjah and Dubai 24 hours per day, so plan accordingly. The principal carrier here is Air Arabia, a low-cost carrier serving the Middle East and South Asia. The airport is fairly basic but is being expanded. A taxi ride to Dubai will typically cost Dhs 50.

A Bus service by Air Arabia also runs from the Airport to the Rashidiya Metro Station in Dubai. Rashidiya metro station is located close to the Dubai International Airport.

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VISAS

Citizens of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) do not require a visa.

Citizens of most industrialized countries will receive a 30-day visa on arrival in the United Arab Emirates free of charge. This can be extended for up to 90 days after arrival for a fee of Dhs 500. The countries are listed below:

Australia, Andorra, Austria, Brunei, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom (except BN(O) passports), United States of America and the Vatican City.

Several other countries are eligible for free hotel/tour-sponsored tourism visas.

All other nationalities will be required to apply for a visa in advance, which will require a sponsor from inside the UAE. Your travel agent will usually be able or arrange this for you if you book your hotel through them.

Israeli citizens are banned by the UAE government from entering the country. However, despite much online misinformation to the contrary, an Israeli visa stamps are - by official policy - quietly ignored.

If you are traveling from India, please get a stamp of 'OK to Board'. Most of the times, it is arranged by your travel agent. In case he hasn't then as soon as you get your Visa; take your Visa, Passport and Ticket to your Airlines office and get the stamp of 'OK to board'. Without this you might not be allowed to travel to UAE.