Dubai Customs Handles 10m Bags, Carries out 472 Seizures at Dubai Airports in H1

Dubai – 18 August 2020:  Dubai Customs Passenger Operations Department revealed that it has handled 10.2 million pieces of baggage for 5 million passengers through 44,358 Dubai-bound flights during the first half of this year. 

In response to the Covid-19 outbreak, the department in cooperation with airport stakeholders has implemented and constantly checked the mandatory precautionary measures on-site as outlined by the UAE health authorities to ensure the safety of inspection staff as well as that of passengers and customers. The inspection staff were redeployed and certain work systems and processes updated to facilitate the smooth flow of passengers at the customs zone.  
Thanks to the vigilance of our customs officers with support from the sophisticated scanning equipment, as many as 472 seizure reports were issued during the same period, including 364 drug seizures, 32 customs cases, and 76 other miscellaneous seizures. 

 “Our department has a significant and vital role in easing the smooth flow of passengers, particularly amid the current battle against Covid-19. Immediately upon the resumption of flights, we took all the necessary precautionary measures in line with global safe travel procedures followed across Dubai airports to ensure both frontline inspectors and passengers are safe,” said Ibrahim Kamali, Director of Passenger Operations at Dubai Customs.   

He added that the department was harnessing artificial intelligence technologies to advance its passenger systems and further streamline inspection and clearance procedures to meet the upcoming challenges in light of the expected rise in number of flights and passengers coming to Dubai. 

Statistics released by the department show that 16,932 customs declarations were processed in Dubai airports during the first six months of this year, with 4,470 import declarations, 9,756 export declarations and 1,897 re-export declarations and other transactions.