GDRFA-Dubai introduces special services for disabled passengers at airports

The General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs-Dubai, GDRFA-Dubai, has taken significant measures to cater for disabled passengers at all terminals of Dubai Airports, including Al Maktoum Airport, by installing special counters that will help make travelling through the airport easy, enjoyable and comfortable.

By adopting modern and comprehensive services targeting people with special needs, GDRFA-Dubai will also be participating towards making Dubai a disability-friendly city by 2020.

Major General Mohammed Ahmed Al Marri, Director-General of the GDRFA-Dubai, said that disabled people usually face difficulties and obstacles at airports, and that is why GDRFA-Dubai took this humanitarian issue into consideration to become the first in the Middle East and one of the first in the world to provide distinctive services for the disabled at an airport.

Al Marri explained that one of the main challenges facing those with physical disabilities at airports world-wide is mobility, especially passing through custom counters and getting to gates.

"We have special counters at each terminal at the airports at arrival and departure gates. They are built to accommodate travellers in wheelchairs allowing them to see passport control officers without the need for them to lift up their head, making it more comfortable and convenient for them," he said.

Al Marri added that a smart gate and an e-gate has also has been allocated for disabled passengers, while the smart gate at Terminal 3 is the first of its kind in the Middle East which allows passengers to complete travel procedures in 18 seconds only.
Source: WAM