DUBAI, 28 November 2018: To provide passengers with even more comfortable transfers at Dubai international Airport, Emirates has commissioned a fleet of new high-tech buses for airside passenger operations.
The new buses will ferry Emirates’ passengers between terminals and its aircraft at remote stands. Ten of these new buses are already in service. 30 more will be delivered by January 2019, with the entire fleet to comprise 128 buses by 2020.
Emirates’ executive vice president and chief operations officer, Adel Al Redha said: “Together with our latest transport management system, these new buses will enable us to provide our valued customers with a more comfortable ride and smoother connections.”
Emirates is the first airline to introduce airside buses that have equal standing and seating capacity, a significant improvement on standard airside transfer buses, which usually prioritise standing room and offer minimal seating.
Buses also have convenient ramp access and fold-up seats to make travel more comfortable for customers who use wheelchairs or are travelling with baby strollers.
Other customised features include: ambient lighting, an intercom facility to contact the driver, microphones for announcements, and flight information systems inside the buses, which display the latest information to customers. Clear messaging will also appear outside the buses to alert customers quickly and easily on the direction the bus is going.
In addition, the bus fleet will be managed from a control room by Emirates’ airport services team together with its ground handling partner, dnata.
Replacing manual processes, airside passenger bus deployment and driver assignments are now handled via an advanced resource planning software. This improves deployment efficacy and reduces waiting times.
