World City Guide

Getting There By Air

Dubai International Airport (DBX)
Tel: (04) 224 5555. Fax: (04) 224 4074.
Website: www.dubaiairport.com

Dubai International Airport, located five kilometres (three miles) southeast of the city centre, is the busiest airport in the Middle East, handling flights for over 80 airlines, flying to more than 130 destinations worldwide. Over 16 million passengers passed through the airport in 2002. There are two state-of-the-art terminals anf first-rate facilities. Despite the outbreak of war, the national carrier, Emirates Airlines, plans to press ahead with new flights to London and North America. A third terminal is planned for completion by 2006.

Major airlines: Emirates Airlines (tel: (04) 214 4444 or 800 4444; website: www.emirates.com) is the national airline. Gulf Air (tel: (04) 271 3222; website: www.gulfairco.com) is the regional airline. Emirates will have its own terminal by 2005 and the first of its new double-decker Airbus A380 'super-jumbos' is set to arrive in 2006. Other major airlines include: Air France, Air Ukraine, Alitalia, Cathay Pacific, Cyprus Airways, Czech Airlines, Ghana Airways, Gulf Air, Kenya Airways, Kuwait Airways, Lithuanian Airlines, Lufthansa, Malaysia Airlines, Olympic Airways, Oman Air, Qatar Airways, Turkish Airways and Yemen Airways. In 2002, British Airways introduced flat beds in both First Class and Club World, on the route from London.

Approximate flight times to Dubai: From London is 7 hours 45 minutes; from New York is 14 hours 50 minutes; from Los Angeles is 19 hours 55 minutes; from Toronto is 14 hours 10 minutes and from Sydney is 16 hours 15 minutes.

Airport facilities: These include ATM, bureau de change, banking, post office, medical centre, pharmacy, cafs, restaurants, gym, health spa, executive lounges, left-luggage, duty-free shopping, tourist information bureau, smoking areas, children’s playrooms and car hire from Avis, Budget, Fast Rent a Car and Hertz.

Business facilities: There are two airport business centres. The Global Link Business Centre is located in the departure lounge, with facilities including six ISD booths, workstations with Internet connection and fax machines, as well as an around-the-clock secretarial service. The second business centre is located in the International Hotel, the Connect Business Centre (tel: (04) 216 4278; fax: (04) 224 5955) has five meeting rooms and a conference room for up to 60 delegates. Eight workstations include ISDN terminals and fax machines. Secretarial and office services support is offerred. There are a number of executive lounges in the airport, some offering excellent business facilities.

Arrival/departure tax: None.

Transport to the city: Dubai Municipality (tel: (800) 4848; website: www.dm.gov.ae) airport buses, with air conditioning and extra luggage space, leave for Al Subkha (route 401) and Al Ghubaiba (route 402) bus stations every 30 minutes daily 0600-2200 (journey time- 20 minutes) and cost Dh3. From the bus stations there are regular transfers to all parts of the city. Prepaid airport taxis must be booked in the arrival hall. These charge a fixed Dh30 for destinations in the city centre (journey time – 10 minutes). Otherwise, Dubai Transport taxis are available outside the arrivals terminal, with a hefty Dh20 initial charge.