Dubai Customs has stepped up readiness to
ensure smooth movement of homecoming passengers during the post-
summer vacation period. The Passenger Operations Department of
Dubai Customs has taken preparations to facilitate procedures and
speed up the flow of arrivals through the Dubai International Airport
(DXB). It increased the number of customs inspectors working on shifts
at different airport checkpoints, taking the total to 840 inspectors. There
are 77 inspection scanners deployed across DXB terminals, including 58
designed to screen large bags and 19 scanners to check hand baggage.
To deal with the growing influx of arrivals during this holiday season, the
department 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 Passenger Operations Department,
said: “Dubai Customs attaches great importance to developing smart
and innovative services to facilitate procedures for passengers coming
into the country. Dubai Customs’ 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.”
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 customs clearance process to less than 4 minutes.”
The second phase of iDeclare development includes implementing the
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
boarding pass’s QR code without the need to fill it in. iDeclare 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 declared, goods exempt from customs
duty and conditions for exemption, and some restricted items like
medications and plants that require importation permits from relevant
authorities.
