Dubai International Airport makes it easier for passengers to board flights with new alphanumeric system

With an increasing number of travellers booking Dubai holidays, the nation's tourism industry continues to think of ways to ensure customer satisfaction; this includes improvements to the Dubai International Airport. Officials at the airport have recently installed a new alpha numeric system aimed at allowing passengers to navigate their way through the airport to their Dubai flights with greater ease. The move is part of a long term multi-phase $7.8 billion investment plan.

The number of travellers booking Dubai flights is increasing each year as the nation continues to build on its reputation as one of the most coveted holiday destinations in the world. As such, the importance of improving the overall visitor experience at the Dubai International Airport cannot be overlooked. Perhaps in recognition of this fact, officials at the Dubai International Airport have installed a new alpha-numeric system enabling passengers on their journey to luxury holidays in Dubai to navigate their way through the airport with greater ease.

Of the decision to switch to an alpha-numeric system, CEO of Dubai Airports, Paul Griffiths highlighted that the decision was taken bearing the customer experience in mind, stating, “Essentially we have looked at this through the eyes of our customers to help them find their flights with ease and convenience… Research shows us that passengers find an alpha-numeric system a far easier way to navigate their way through the airport and locate their boarding gate”.

As part of the upgrade the airlines, ground handling and control agencies were required to apply the new alpha- numeric system to all airport signage and computer support systems. Such an important change took a combined and well co ordinated effort with hundreds of airport staff deployed to make the necessary alterations to a total of 1,500. Remarkably, the changes took place in just a brief eight hour window ensuring that the impact on travellers heading back home from their Dubai holidays was minimal.

Image by: gadha, on Flickr

The Dubai International Airport is comprised of three terminals (Terminals, 1,2, and 3) and three concourses (Concourses 1,2 and 3) which are home to the boarding gates, airline lounges, duty free shops as well as various food and beverage outlets. Under the revised system Concourses 1, 2 and 3 have been changed to Concourse C, B and A respectively. The newly named Concourse C will house gates C1 to C50, while Concourse B will feature B1 to B32 and passengers will find gates A1 to A24 in Concourse A.

The move is one part of multi phase long term $7.8 billion investment project aimed at upgrading and expanding the Dubai International Airport. Future upgrades include colour-coding and the use of international symbols all of which will help to make the Dubai flight experience more relaxed for passengers.