Passengers faced with lengthy stopovers at Dubai International Airport while they wait for connecting flights can now look forward to spending the time in five-star comfort without having to leave the airport, no matter what time of day or night they arrive. A major feature of the new Sheikh Rashid Terminal is the Dubai International Hotel, designed specifically for the comfort of long-haul passengers and the needs of business executives whose tight schedules often mean they have to attend to business affairs even while they are at the airport.
    Located on the upper three levels of the concourse immediately above the departures level, this light and airy hotel is open around the clock and is reached via an escalator between Gates 15 and 17. Accommodation comprises 100 well-furnished rooms, in deluxe, superior deluxe and junior suite categories, with one Presidential Suite and one Royal Suite, as well as two rooms for the disabled.
    Facilities at the hotel include the Safar international restaurant, the G-Force health club, gym and swimming pool, hairdressing and massage services, as well as Connect, a fully-equipped business and conference center.
    All rooms are spacious and feature wide windows for maximum light - a far cry from the cramped, cubicle-style rooms found in so many airport hotels around the world. Interactive TV is an innovative value-added facility, enabling guests to place room-service orders, receive messages and to look up information about the range of services offered by both the hotel and airport.
    The system also allows guests to pay their bills by credit card or charge card and to check out without going to the reception cashier: even beverage bills automatically recorded every time an item is removed from the mini-bar.
    The hotel's 24-hour business and conference center, Connect, has five meeting rooms, modern audio-visual equipment and computers with high-speed Internet access. But facilities for business executives do not end here. In addition to the hotel's dedicated facilities, Sheikh Rashid Terminal has a fully-equipped Business Center on the departures level - ideal for business executives passing directly through the terminal - while the

    Over the past year, Dubai International Airport has embarked on a program designed to improve all of its passenger services. The airport's modern infrastructure and high-tech facilities already ensure that arriving and efficiently. The management team, however, is fully aware that even the best facilities in the world must be supported by efficient staff in order to provide passengers with five-star service. In keeping with the UAE's long tradition of Arab courtesy and hospitality, the Department of Civil  Aviation has introduced an initiative called 'Dubai Airport Cares'.
    Its credo is simple: to ensure that every passenger using Dubai International Airport feels that he or she is an honoured guest.
    The Dubai Airport Cares project is integral to the US$540 million expansion program and has involved the training of every member of staff and an ongoing system  of implementation. Emphasis has been placed on personal relations, with staff trained to be calm, polite and patient with passengers; to speak clearly; give their full attention and to greet every passenger with a smile.
    Everyone working at the airport has attended a special training course highlighting the importance of the individual and the role to be played in achieving the standard of excellence which the initiative seeks. To help clarify the policy, a 'Dubai Airport Cares' handbook has been produced for staff, detailing the 18 key principles which they are advised to follow.

    Completion of Sheikh Rashid Terminal and associated developments has transformed Dubai International Airport into one of the most sophisticated aviation gateways in the world. As well as having the ability to increase capacity to 22 million passengers a year, the US$540 million expansion program has provided the airport with some of the most advanced technological equipment in the world.
    The airport's two runways have been fitted with CAT IIIB instrument landing systems, allowing suitably equipped aircraft to be guided in form either direction for automated landings irrespective of weather conditions. New airfield lighting  and lighting control systems also conform to strict international civil aviation recommendations for CAT IIIB operations, increasing  the ability of air traffic controllers to assist pilots when ground visibility is poor, and to select individual taxiing routes for specific aircraft.
    Other new installations include the latest ground movement radar, which is capable of accurately tracking both aircraft and vehicular traffic in all weather radar allows air traffic controllers to predict the most suitable course alterations to enable aircraft to avoid thunderstorms or thick cloud formations.
    Communication has also been improved with the introduction of a new computerized voice switch, which has added clarity to all radio and telephone messaging.
    New display equipment for each runway has been installed: together with a sophisticated aerodrome terminal information system, this enables air traffic control to close one runway for essential maintenance and upgrading without disrupting traffic flows.
    The significant increase in the number of passengers using the airport is handled efficiently through use of an integrated information technology system, operated by DCA IT.
   Technical upgrading has providing the airport with several systems not yet seen at other airports anywhere in the world. These include the first multi-lingual flight information display system; a common language check-in system; an airport-wide resource management system based  on real time allocation; and the first-ever airport-wide radio frequency network.
    The introduction of distributed operations at the airport has necessitated more extensive use of mobile data and increased automation. DCA IT is therefore making use of radio frequency technology on the IT infrastructure of a fiber optic network

    The safety of passengers in the air and on the ground is the prime concern of everyone at Dubai International Airport. The responsibility for safe arrivals and departures in the immediate vicinity of the airport is in the capable hands of professional sir traffic controllers. In the case of arriving aircraft, responsibility starts when the flight is 160 kilometers from Dubai, when control is passed  to Dubai from UAE Air traffic Control in Abu Dhabi.
    Operating from Dubai International Airport's new state-of-the-art control tower, staff monitor aircraft movements by radar, vectored on to a controlled instrument approach and finally passed over the visual control. After landing, the aircraft is handled by the ground movement controller through taxiing and final parking. The reverse procedure is followed for all departing flights.
    Dubai Air Traffic Control has some of the most modern equipment in the world and uses four different radars to control all aircraft movements, which are fed and plotted into five displays. Controllers handle around 132,000 aircraft movements every year, and this figure is increasing by close to eight per cent a year. Forty controllers are employed, all of them highly trained to stringent international  standards.

    As Dubai grows is stature as a leading international business and leisure destination, demand for executive services is increasing in tandem. Dignitaries, captains of industry and stars of showbusiness and sport from across the world know that when they fly into Dubai International Airport in their private aircraft they will be well looked after by the dedicated specialists of Executive Flight Services.
    Although VIP services are operated from both terminals at the airport, the main facilities have been located at Terminal 2 since its opening in 1998. VIP and CIP flyers are personally welcomed by Executive Flight Services staff the moment they disembark, and are escorted from the apron to a dedicated check-in area. Once inside the terminal, they can relax in the VIP lounge, enjoy a restaurant meal or spend time in the Duty Free shop.
    The service does not stop there: hotel reservations can be made, and limousine transfers are available from airport to hotel (or private residence, as may be the case). If tickets are

    It's Dubai's major venue for leisure and pleasure, an oasis of relaxation in the heart of the city - literally just  a few minutes from both Dubai International Airport and the downtown business district which is attracting ever-increasing numbers of companies, and with them ever-growing numbers of office workers.
    A self-contained leisure complex intended as an amenity for Dubai residents and visitors alike, the Dubai Aviation Club caters to keep-fit enthusiasts, gastronomes, casual diners, sports fans, concert fans and weekend partygoers.
    Set amid landscaped grounds, with a lake and a putting green, the complex comprises the Dubai Aviation Club building itself, with its wide range of keep-fit facilities, restaurant, bar and coffee shop; the magnificent Dubai Tennis Stadium and its ancillary courts; the Irish Village, one of Dubai's most popular themed food and beverage outlets; and the complex's latest addition - the Century Village, which offers eight individual outlets from Sushi to Lebanese via French, Italian and Portuguese restaurants.
    Opened in 1991 on a site adjacent to Dubai Aviation College, Dubai Aviation Club was built to provide the aviation industry and members of the Dubai business community with world-class recreational facilities.
    It has grown in popularity over the years, especially as other facilities have been added to the complex, and its membership today comprises those inside and outside the aviation industry, truly reflecting Dubai's cosmopolitan nature.
    Club facilities include a well-equipped gym with sauna and plunge pool, massage rooms, squash courts, swimming pool, and a putting green overlooking the lake. The club has its own hair salon and a general lounge with large TV screen.
    As a sports and fitness club, the Aviation Club stands out from its competitors through its attention to detail: the changing rooms have a range of toiletries and towels that make guests feel as if they are in their own home or a five-star hotel. The corridors are lined with the tennis racquets and photographs of famous players in action at the Duty Free Dubai Tennis Open.
    The club's Constellation Bar and Tower Restaurant, which are open to non-members, have long been among Dubai's most popular outlets, and these have now been joined by the stylish Coffee Bean cafe, where patrons can enjoy a quiet refreshment while 'surfing the net'. With its deli-style counter and salad bar, the Coffee Bean is proving an extremely popular lunch-time venue for local office workers as well as members. Diners can choose from a variety of fillings and toppings  for salads, baked potatoes and sandwiches. Bread and muffins are freshly baked daily on the premises and, as its name suggests, a tantalizing selection of coffees is available, as well as fresh juice.
A taste of Irish Charm
On the west side of the stadium, a genuine taste of old Ireland has been skillfully created. The highly popular Irish Village is one of the city's most fashionable meeting places. With an interior intimacy reminiscent of a typical Irish pub, and an attractive open-air terrace overlooking the club lake and putting green. It was voted one of the world's top meeting places by Newsweek in 1999.
    Like the Constellation Bar, the Tower Restaurant and the Coffee Bean, the Irish Village is open to the public as well as Aviation Club members. It makes an ideal venue for either casual dinning or special events.
    The menus have been revamped and feature traditional favorites, such as Irish Stew and fish and chips, together with a range of salads, baked potato fillings and sandwiches. Fantastic 'brunch' offers are also available on Fridays.
    The Irish Village is also gaining a reputation as one of the premier live music venues in Dubai and bands perform either outside in the courtyard or on the grass opposite  the lake, which has the Aviation Club as its impressive backdrop.
    On St Patrick's Day, the Irish Village is the place to be. Tourists and residents flock to hear live music and the entrance fee usually includes access to an enormous buffet. Popular promotions, such as Spin the Wheel, which offers customers a range of prizes, also pull in the crowds all year round.