Travel to and from Dubai is expected to reach another peak towards the end of this week, as Emirates anticipates yet another busy period of outbound travel after New Year’s celebrations and inbound travel for the Dubai Shopping Festival.

More than 180,000 travellers will be making their way to Emirates’ dedicated Terminal 3 facilities from 1-5 January 2019. Roughly the same number of travellers will be arriving into Dubai from 31 December until just after New Year’s Day. The busiest day in the first week of 2019 is expected on Wednesday 2 January.

With road works happening around the main airport highways and roads during this time, Emirates urges customers to build in extra time for their journeys to avoid potential delays. Customers are reminded to arrive at the airport at least three hours before their flight departures. Passengers can physically check in at the airport as early as 24 hours before flight departure, and are requested to check in no later than 2 hours prior to departure, regardless of class of travel. Customers who check in less than 60 minutes prior to their scheduled flight departure will not be accepted for travel. Customers can also check in online on both their desktops and mobile devices from 48 hours to 90 minutes before flight departure.

In addition to online check-in services, Emirates also offers convenient car park check-in facilities in Dubai with 16 check-in counters located in Zone C. Customers can use these to check in and drop off their luggage. Alternatively, customers heading to Emirates Terminal 3 can choose to drop their luggage at one of the 46 dedicated bag drop counters in Economy Class or separate counters in First Class and Business Class from six hours to 90 minutes prior to departure. Families travelling with small children can use dedicated Family counters in Check in Zone 2.

After checking in, passengers are also advised to make sure they get to their boarding gate on time. Gates open 90 minutes before departure, boarding starts 45 minutes before each flight and gates close 20 minutes before departure. If passengers report late Emirates will not be able to accept them for travel. Check-in and gate closure timings will be strictly followed to ensure flights depart on schedule. These time checks will ensure minimal flight delays out of Dubai.