Online Check-in 48 Hours before Emirates Flight

Effective immediately, you will now be able to check-in to your next Emirates flight 48 hours (up from 24 hours) before departure via desktop or your mobile devices. Online check-in will close 90 minutes before flight departure but having that increased lead time means you will now have greater flexibility in choosing the seats you want (and more importantly, to beat that snaking queue at the airport)! Upon checking-in online and printing your boarding passes, passengers can proceed to drop their luggage at the online check-in counters (usually much shorter queues!) before heading down to immigration and security. If your Emirates flight does arrive and depart from the United States, boarding passes will only be issued 24 hours in advance (even though you can still check-in 48 hours prior to departure). 

Check-in 48 hours before flight on Emirates | Photo Credit: Emirates

This extended check-in time will mean better availability of upgrades for Emirates Skywards members. Should there be any unexpected flight delays or disruptions, the 48 hour window will also allow these to be better communicated. Emirates has also introduced the "Hold My Fare" option which gives ticket-hunters the opportunity to lock in the fare for a nominal fee - this has now been extended to 72 hours! 

Additionally, Emirates also operates car park check-in facilities around the clock at the famous Dubai hub. Flyers will have the option to check-in and drop off their luggage at the car park check-in facilities from 24 hours to 6 hours before departure. If you are traveling out of Dubai, you may also drop off your luggage at one of the 46 dedicated bag drop counters in Economy Class or separate counters in First Class and Business Class at Dubai International Airport from 6 hours to 90 minutes prior to departure.