Dubai International (DXB) has three passenger terminals, and which one you use is decided by your airline, not by your ticket class: Emirates flies from Terminal 3, most Indian full-service and low-cost carriers use Terminal 1, and Air India Express uses Terminal 2. DXB is the busier of the two Dubai airports and the one nearly every India to Dubai flight lands at; the second, Al Maktoum International (DWC), sits 40-odd kilometres to the south-west and handles a much smaller share of passenger traffic. This guide covers the airport itself: terminals and airlines, moving between them, immigration and smart gates, baggage rules and charges, how much connection time you actually need, and what to do with a long layover. Terminal allocations are published by the airport operator and can change, so read the terminal off your boarding pass before you set out (Dubai Airports, airlines, accessed 2026-08-10).
This guide is maintained by Zurich Kotak General Insurance, an IRDAI-registered general insurer in India and part of the Zurich Insurance Group. It covers the airport. For the flight itself, including sector times and fares from Indian cities, see our guide to flights and flight time from India to Dubai ; for the trip around it, start from the Dubai travel guide .
Indians do not get visa on arrival in the UAE on an Indian passport alone: it depends on holding a qualifying visa or residence permit from another country, and everyone else applies for a tourist visa in advance. Check the current position in our guide to the Dubai visa for Indians and on official UAE sources before you book.
Currency note: every AED figure on this page is converted at 1 AED = INR 25.9405 on 2026-08-10 (Exchange Rate API). The dirham charge is the stable one; the rupee figure moves with the rate.
Dubai’s two airports: DXB and DWC
Almost every passenger flight from India lands at Dubai International (DXB), which sits about 5 km from Deira and Bur Dubai and is directly on the Metro Red Line; Al Maktoum International (DWC) is the second airport, far to the south-west near Jebel Ali, and is not on the Metro. DXB is described by its own operator as “the world’s busiest international airport” (Dubai Airports, accessed 2026-08-10), and its proximity to the city is the practical point: a Metro ride or a short taxi puts you in old Dubai in minutes.
DWC matters to a smaller group of travellers, mostly on low-cost and charter services, and to anyone with a flydubai booking, since Dubai Airports lists flydubai across “Terminal: 2, 3, DWC” (Dubai Airports, airlines, accessed 2026-08-10). If your ticket says DWC, do not assume the transport advice for DXB applies. There is no Metro station at DWC; the airport advises reaching it “via RTA buses or taxis from Ibn Battuta and Expo 2020 Metro Stations” (Dubai Airports, Metro, accessed 2026-08-10). Budget a good deal more time and money for a DWC transfer than a DXB one, and never book a self-transfer between the two airports on separate tickets with a tight gap.
DXB terminals: which airline flies from where
Terminal 3 is Emirates, Terminal 1 carries most international and Indian carriers, and Terminal 2 handles a smaller set including Air India Express. The table below reflects what Dubai Airports published on 2026-08-10; airline terminal moves happen, so confirm on your boarding pass.
Terminal | Who flies from it | Indian carriers listed |
Terminal 1 | The largest number of carriers, including British Airways, Lufthansa, Turkish Airlines, Qatar Airways and Singapore Airlines | Air India, IndiGo, SpiceJet |
Terminal 2 | A smaller set of regional and low-cost operators | Air India Express |
Terminal 3 | Emirates, plus Air Canada, Qantas and United Airlines | None listed |
Source: Dubai Airports, airlines directory, accessed 2026-08-10. flydubai is listed across Terminals 2 and 3 and DWC, so a flydubai booking is the one that most needs checking.
Terminal 3 is where most of the airport’s premium infrastructure sits, including the transit hotel and the larger spa and lounge estate. Terminal 1 is the workhorse for Indian travellers on full-service and low-cost carriers and is well served by the Metro. Terminal 2, which handles Air India Express among others, is a separate building on the far side of the airfield: it is not a short walk from Terminal 1 and it has no Metro station, so allow for a taxi or a bus.
Moving between terminals and concourses
Inside the airside system, Terminal 3’s B and C gates are walkable and its A gates are reached by an airport train, and Terminal 1’s D gates are also reached by an airport train, so a connection between those areas does not require you to leave security. Dubai Airports states it plainly: “Guests can access Terminal 1’s D Gates with a short trip on an airport train”, and within Terminal 3 “travellers can walk between B Gates and C Gates and take a short ride on the airport train to A Gates” (Dubai Airports, transfers, accessed 2026-08-10).
Whether you can stay airside at all depends on how your journey is ticketed, and this is the single thing most connecting passengers get wrong. Dubai Airports distinguishes two cases. If you are visa-exempt or hold a Dubai visa and your journey is booked through, you go to a transfer desk and “receive the boarding pass for the onward flight”. If you are on separate tickets, or you need visa processing, you must “clear passport control, retrieve baggage, and check in for the connecting flight”, which means going landside and back through security (Dubai Airports, transfers, accessed 2026-08-10). A self-connection on two separate bookings is therefore a different, longer and riskier operation than a through-ticketed one, and it is the case where a missed connection lands on you, not on the airline.
Terminal 2 is not connected to the others by the airside train system, so any connection involving Terminal 2 should be treated as a landside transfer. If in doubt, Dubai Airports’ advice is to “consult with your airline or Guest Experience Ambassadors upon arrival” rather than guessing, and Marhaba’s paid meet-and-assist service can move you and your bags between terminals for a fee (Dubai Airports, transfers, accessed 2026-08-10).
Arriving at DXB: immigration, smart gates and eye scans
DXB clears most arriving passengers through Smart Gates, an automated passport-control system the airport says lets travellers “pass through passport control swiftly, typically within seconds”. The gates work on facial recognition: you look towards a green light rather than scanning a document, and first-time users are registered automatically on arrival. Remove masks, glasses and hats, and keep your passport and boarding pass to hand (Dubai Airports, immigration and visas, accessed 2026-08-10).
Not everyone can use them. Dubai Airports states that “People of Determination (individuals with disabilities or impairments) and guests with large strollers, families with children and guests under 1.2 meters in height are ineligible to use the Smart Gates”, so families travelling with young children should expect the staffed counters. The airport also publishes a “Smart Gates PreCheck tool” for checking eligibility before you fly, and notes that some visitors undergo eye scanning at passport control (Dubai Airports, immigration and visas, accessed 2026-08-10).
Smart Gate eligibility covers UAE and GCC nationals, UAE residents, and passengers eligible for visa on arrival who hold biometric passports. That last category is where an Indian traveller has to be careful. DXB’s own FAQ says: “Certain nationalities can get a visa on arrival if the transit time is longer than 8 hours. Always confirm with your airline and immigration” (Dubai Airports, FAQs, accessed 2026-08-10). Read that as written: it says certain nationalities, and it is not a statement about Indian passport holders. The UAE position for Indians is the one set out in the pointer near the top of this page, and the detail lives in our Dubai visa for Indians guide. Sort your entry route before you fly, not at the counter.
For anyone who does need a visa desk on the ground, GDRFA runs a 24-hour visa office in Terminal 3 arrivals, near Entrance 1 (Dubai Airports, immigration and visas, accessed 2026-08-10).
Customs, baggage and what you can carry
Dubai Customs allows arriving passengers gifts worth up to AED 3,000, about INR 77,800, plus limited tobacco and alcohol, and requires a written declaration for cash and valuables above AED 60,000, about INR 15.6 lakh. These are the current published allowances (Dubai Customs, Passenger Customs Guide, Version No. 6 - 2025, accessed 2026-08-10):
Item | Allowance |
Gifts accompanying the passenger | Value not exceeding AED 3,000 (about INR 77,800) |
Cigarettes and tobacco | 200 cigarettes, or 50 cigars, or 500 grams of tobacco. Duty applies above this |
Alcohol | Not exceeding 4 litres, or 2 cartons of beer (24 cans each, cans up to 355 ml). Excess is confiscated |
Cash, cheques, precious metals or stones | Declaration required above AED 60,000 (about INR 15.6 lakh) for passengers aged 18 and over |
Mobile phones in luggage | Maximum 15, and “They must be in the manufacturer’s packaging” |
Three rules catch Indian travellers in particular. Tobacco and alcohol allowances do not apply at all to passengers under 18. Paan and nasvaar are banned outright: the customs guide lists “Nasvaar and Betel leaves (paan) of any kind” among items not allowed for import. And medication needs paperwork: DXB states that “If you have any medications that you need to carry, it must have a prescription, or you have a metal medical device in your body, you must have a doctor’s certificate” (Dubai Airports, security and customs, accessed 2026-08-10). Carry the prescription in your hand baggage, not the hold.
On hand baggage, the liquids rule at DXB is “The container should not exceed 100 ml, and a maximum of 10 containers, equivalent to one litre”, with exemptions for medication, baby milk and special dietary requirements (Dubai Airports, security and customs, accessed 2026-08-10).
Left luggage and porters are available in every terminal, and both are cheap enough to change how you use a long layover. Figures last reviewed 2026-08-10 (Dubai Airports, baggage, accessed 2026-08-10):
Service | Where | Charge |
Baggage storage, standard, up to 12 hours | Terminals 1 and 2, dnata Baggage Services | AED 40 (about INR 1,040) |
Baggage storage, oversized or valuable, up to 12 hours | Terminals 1 and 2 | AED 50 (about INR 1,300) |
Baggage storage, standard, up to 12 hours | Terminal 3, Emirates Left Luggage, Arrivals near Exit 1 | AED 35 (about INR 908) |
Baggage storage, oversized or valuable, up to 12 hours | Terminal 3 | AED 40 (about INR 1,040) |
Porter service | Terminals 1, 2 and DWC | From AED 30 (about INR 780) |
Porter service | Terminal 3 | AED 40 regular trolley, AED 100 flat-bed (about INR 1,040 and INR 2,590) |
Emirates baggage delivery, up to four bags within the UAE | Emirates passengers | AED 200 to 250 (about INR 5,190 to 6,490) |
Storage counters run 24 hours a day, and trolleys are free throughout DXB and DWC.
How much connection time do you actually need?
Dubai Airports’ own guidance is to “arrive at the airport at least three hours before your flight departure to allow enough time for travel procedures”, and for a connection the honest answer depends entirely on whether your bags are checked through. (Dubai Airports, FAQs, accessed 2026-08-10.)
Work it out from the three cases the airport’s own transfer rules imply. There is no single safe number:
· Through-ticketed, same terminal, airside. The shortest case. You walk or take the airport train to your onward gate, and your minimum connection time is whatever your airline publishes for that pairing. Check it on the booking; do not invent one.
· Through-ticketed but crossing between Terminal 3 and Terminal 1’s D gates. Still airside, but add the airport train and the walking distances at a very large airport. Terminal 3 alone is a long building.
· Separate tickets, or any connection through Terminal 2. Treat it as a landside transfer. You will “clear passport control, retrieve baggage, and check in for the connecting flight”, which means immigration, baggage reclaim, a terminal transfer and a fresh security screening. Do not attempt this on a short gap, and be aware that if your entry route is not sorted you may not be permitted landside at all.
That third case is also the one where travel insurance earns its keep, because a missed self-connection is not the airline’s liability. If you are self-connecting, build in hours rather than minutes.
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Getting from Dubai airport into the city
The Metro Red Line runs directly from Terminals 1 and 3, taxis wait at ranks outside every terminal with a stated AED 25 starting fare, about INR 650, and RTA buses run from stands at Arrivals in all three terminals. Metro hours are 05:00 to midnight Monday to Thursday and on Saturday, 05:00 to 01:00 on Friday and 08:00 to midnight on Sunday, and you will need a nol card, which is sold at ticket offices and vending machines inside the terminals (Dubai Airports, Metro; Dubai Airports, taxi; Dubai Airports, bus, all accessed 2026-08-10). Buses take no cash at all, so the nol card is not optional for that route.
Two things worth doing at the terminal itself. Buy the nol card before you leave the airport, because you will want it anyway. And use the official taxi rank or the marked ride-hailing pickup point rather than a driver who approaches you inside the building. Ten rental companies also have desks across the three terminals, but hiring a car needs an International Driving Permit obtained in India before you travel. The full comparison of Metro, tram, buses, abras, taxis, tour buses and car hire is in our guide to getting around Dubai .
A long layover at DXB: what to do with it
DXB is built for long layovers, with a book-by-the-hour transit hotel inside Terminal 3 departures, spas, lounges and a family zone, so a wait of six hours or more does not have to be spent in a departure-gate seat. The airside options the airport publishes (Dubai Airports, relax and refresh; Dubai International Hotel, both accessed 2026-08-10):
· Dubai International Hotel, Terminal 3. Situated “within the Departures Area of Terminal 3” and bookable by the hour, with rooms from a 32 sq m Deluxe upwards. The operator says “Guests arriving from Terminal 1, 2, & 3 can easily access the hotel in Terminal 3.” Rates are not published on the operator’s site, so check when you book.
· DXB Hotel, Terminal 1. The airport positions it for travellers who have “an overnight stopover, or just a few hours to refresh and relax”.
· Spas. Timeless Spa, with “71 treatment rooms across DXB”, and XpresSpa, both in Terminal 3.
· Lounges. Ahlan lounges, Plaza Premium and airline lounges across Terminals 1 and 3, most of which sell paid entry as well as taking eligible passengers.
· DXB Family Zone, Terminal 3, an entertainment space for children before flights, and an Assisted Travel Lounge in Terminal 2 offering “a calming space and support for People of Determination (POD) and travellers with hidden disabilities”.
Leaving the airport on a layover is a different decision, and it turns on your entry permission rather than on the clock. Going into the city means clearing immigration, which means you need a valid entry route, and for Indian passport holders that is not something to assume at the transfer desk. If your entry is already sorted, a five or six hour gap is genuinely enough to ride the Red Line into old Dubai and back, because the Metro station is attached to Terminals 1 and 3 and the journey into Deira or Bur Dubai is short. If it is not sorted, stay airside and use the facilities above. Either way, check your entry route before you fly, not on the day.
FAQ
Q: Which terminal do Indian flights use at Dubai airport?
A: It depends on the airline. On the terminal allocations Dubai Airports published on 2026-08-10, Air India, IndiGo and SpiceJet operate from Terminal 1, Air India Express from Terminal 2, and Emirates from Terminal 3. flydubai is listed across Terminals 2 and 3 and Al Maktoum International (DWC), so a flydubai booking is the one that most needs checking. Airlines are moved between terminals, so always read the terminal off your boarding pass.
Q: How do I transfer between terminals at Dubai airport?
A: Airside, an airport train links Terminal 3’s A gates and Terminal 1’s D gates, and Terminal 3’s B and C gates are walkable, so a through-ticketed connection in that system does not require leaving security. If you are on separate tickets, or you need visa processing, you must clear passport control, collect your baggage and check in again for the onward flight, which is a landside transfer. Terminal 2 is not on the airside train system, so treat any Terminal 2 connection as landside and allow much more time.
Q: How early should I get to Dubai airport?
A: Dubai Airports recommends arriving at least three hours before departure to allow enough time for travel procedures. For a connection there is no single number: a through-ticketed airside connection follows the minimum connection time your airline publishes for that pairing, while a connection on separate tickets requires immigration, baggage reclaim, a terminal transfer and fresh security screening, so it needs hours rather than minutes.
Q: What are the customs allowances when arriving in Dubai from India?
A: Dubai Customs allows gifts worth up to AED 3,000, about INR 77,800, plus 200 cigarettes or 50 cigars or 500 grams of tobacco, and alcohol not exceeding 4 litres or 2 cartons of beer. Cash, cheques, precious metals or stones worth more than AED 60,000, about INR 15.6 lakh, must be declared by passengers aged 18 and over. Tobacco and alcohol allowances do not apply to under-18s, paan and nasvaar are prohibited outright, and any medication you carry needs a prescription.
Q: Can I leave Dubai airport during a long layover?
A: Only if you have a valid entry route into the UAE, because leaving the airport means clearing immigration. Dubai Airports’ FAQ notes that “Certain nationalities can get a visa on arrival if the transit time is longer than 8 hours. Always confirm with your airline and immigration”, and that sentence is about certain nationalities, not about Indian passport holders in general. Indians do not get visa on arrival on an Indian passport alone, so confirm your route before you fly rather than at the transfer desk.
Q: Where can I store luggage or sleep at Dubai airport?
A: Baggage storage runs 24 hours in all three terminals, at AED 40 for standard bags up to 12 hours in Terminals 1 and 2, about INR 1,040, and AED 35 at the Emirates Left Luggage desk in Terminal 3, about INR 908. For sleep, the Dubai International Hotel sits inside Terminal 3 departures and is bookable by the hour, and there is a DXB Hotel in Terminal 1 for overnight stopovers. Terminal 3 also has spas, lounges and a family zone.
