Dubai Customs increases services as vacation travellers return to UAE

Dubai Customs said it has stepped up its readiness to ensure the smooth movement of homecoming passengers during the post-summer vacation period.

The Passenger Operations Department of Dubai Customs said it had made preparations to facilitate procedures and speed up the flow of arrivals through the Dubai International Airport (DXB).

Dubai Customs ramps up services

The authority said it had increased the number of customs inspectors working on shifts at different airport checkpoints. The agency said it had deployed 840 inspectors to manage the return rush.

The airport terminals also house 77 inspection scanners, including 58 designed to screen large bags and 19 scanners to check hand baggage.

To deal with the influx of arrivals during this holiday season, the department said it maintains around-the-clock communication between the staff on duty, terminal managers, and team leaders to address any issues or obstacles that may arise during the customs inspection and clearance process.

Ibrahim Ali Al Kamali, director of the Passenger Operations Department, said, “Dubai Customs attaches great importance to developing smart and innovative services to facilitate procedures for passengers coming into the country. The cutting-edge systems and processes support DXB’s plans to retain its leading, prestigious position as the world’s busiest airport by international passenger traffic.”

iDeclare app

The development of ‘smart customs systems’ helps accelerate the flow of travelers coming into the country, said Al Kamali.

“The recently upgraded iDeclare app has been a great success in this respect, enabling Dubai arrivals to pre-declare any goods, personal effects, gifts, currencies, or cash they may have in their possession and clear their transactions before arrival to the airport, which saves them time by cutting down the clearance process to less than 4 minutes,” he added.

The second phase of iDeclare development includes implementing an artificial intelligence feature, which enables users to identify the goods to be declared just by taking their pictures, selecting the appropriate HS Code, and determining any payable customs duties.

The mobile scanner will also be activated to read and store travel information directly from the boarding pass QR code without the need to fill it in. The app is available on Google Play and Apple store.

The app also features the Passenger Customs Guide (available also on www.dubaicustoms.gov.ae), which includes information about prohibited items and goods that need to be declared, goods exempt from duty and conditions for exemption, and some restricted items like medications and plants that require importation permits from relevant authorities.