Dubai: Two children who arrived at Dubai International Airport were delighted when they were allowed to enter the passport control cabin and stamp their own passports on Sunday morning.
The two children arrived in Dubai as tourists with their family, and they were inquisitive to know what the passport officer does behind his desk.
Major General Mohammad Al Merri, General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) in Dubai, was on inspection visit to the airport when he saw the children and decided to surprise them.
“They were curious to know what the officer was doing. I walked to them and invited them to go inside the cabin and see how the officers clear the traveller’s procedure in a smooth way. They were happy,” Maj Gen Al Merri said.
The two children completed their clearance procedures and stamped their own passports.
“The travellers in the queues liked the gesture and you could see a smile on all the faces in the passport control zone,” he added.
By the numbers
Dubai International has retained its position as the world’s No. 1 airport for international passengers for the fourth consecutive year.
Annual passenger traffic in 2017 reached 88.2 million in 2017, according to the annual traffic report issued by operator Dubai Airports earlier this month.
High traffic volumes average 7.35 million passengers per month throughout the year.
During the record months — January, July and August — traffic breached the 8-million passenger mark.
Dubai Airport’s traffic reached 88,242,099 passengers for the full year.
This is up 5.5 per cent compared to 83,654,250 passengers recorded during 2016.
“Dubai Airport is the first welcome gate to all travellers. We follow our Ruler’s [His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai] instructions to ease the procedures for passengers and to welcome them always with a smile,” Maj Gen Al Merri said.
