Dubai Adds Departure Tax On International Flights
All passengers travelling through Dubai airport will have to pay a newly introduced airport fee for all flights departing from here.
The fee of 35 Dirham, will be applicable for all flight reservations done from April 1st onwards and is valid for all airlines departing from any of Dubai’s airport, on international routes, from June 30th. The only exemptions are for children under 2 years, cabin crew and for passengers who do not change their aircraft in Dubai.
Dubai’s crown prince, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, has justified the move, by saying that the fee will go towards improving the airport’s infrastructure, and to help increase its passenger handling capacity, to achieve 100 million travelers by year 2030.
Additionally, the crown prince has clarified that this fee will also be utilized to expand and build a technology driven Concourse D, at Dubai International Airport, as well as develop Terminal 2 and to revamp Terminal 1.
All the proposed works are due to the increasing popularity of Dubai airport since last decade. In fact, Dubai International Airport holds the distinction of being the only airport to fly the highest number of passengers on international routes. It is also home to Emirates airline, which is one of the largest passenger carrier and has the highest number of Airbus A380s and Boeing 777s in its fleet.
To accommodate the increasing number of travelers, a new airport, the Al Khartoum International Airport was also constructed, however, at present, only a small number of traffic is seen at this airport, in comparison to the more busier, Dubai International Airport.
On contrary to the crown prince’s clarification of the new tax, Wall Street Journal has a different theory. It proposes that the new fee was introduced by the Persian Gulf monarchies, as an alternate source of revenue, due to the low oil prices of the recent past which have put a dent on the budgets of nations across this region. Wall Street Journal has further stated that, as per the passenger numbers available, this new tax will generate an income of up to $743 million per annum.