Dubai Customs’ Air Cargo Centres Management handled approximately 18.2 million customs transactions in the first half of 2026, up from around 11.9 million in the same period last year, a rise of nearly 53%. Total shipment weight reached approximately 1.3 million tons, compared to around 886,000 tons in H1 2025, growth of nearly 47%.
“These results reflect Dubai Customs’ shift from facilitating trade to empowering it. The role of customs work is no longer limited to processing transactions — it now extends to supporting trade and economic growth, improving the business environment, reducing time and cost, and strengthening Dubai’s ability to attract trade flows and investments linked to the shipping, distribution, logistics, and digital economy sectors, directly contributing to the goals of the Dubai Economic Agenda,” Mohammed Al Ghaffari, Executive Director of the Customs Inspection Division at Dubai Customs said in a statement.
“We are developing a customs inspection model capable of keeping pace with continuous trade growth and the rapid shifts in supply chains, strengthening Dubai’s ability to maintain its position as a pivotal hub for global trade. This approach also translates Dubai Customs’ strategy and future plans into a direct impact on economic activity, ensuring that customs points of entry continue to support trade growth and enhance the emirate’s ability to attract business and connect global markets,” we added.
The e-commerce surge is most visible in the Free Zone Department within the air cargo sector, which completed approximately 17.7 million customs transactions in H1 2026, up from around 10.9 million a year earlier, growth of 62%. The department also handled more than 6.2 million postal parcels in the first six months of the year.
To support digital trade specifically, Dubai Customs raised the customs duty exemption threshold for eligible cross-border e-commerce shipments to AED 1,000, effective August 3, 2026.
A separate facilitation exempts returned goods imported by companies for personal purposes from customs duties, provided duties were previously paid and goods are returned within 60 days of departure. The exemptions do not cover tobacco products, e-cigarettes, nicotine liquids, alcoholic beverages, or food preparations containing alcohol.
“The results for the first half of 2026 reflect our ability to keep pace with the rapid growth in shipping and e-commerce activity. For us, success isn’t measured only by the number of transactions or the volume of goods we handle — it extends to the greater speed we provide traders and companies in reaching markets, the higher efficiency we enable in managing their operations, and the broader capacity for growth we offer them from Dubai,” Abdulla Ahmad Alblooshi, Director of Air Cargo Centers Management at Dubai Customs said.
“We are working to shorten the time between a shipment’s arrival and its entry into the market, because the speed of customs procedures has become a core part of trade competitiveness. As transaction volumes and shipment sizes continue to rise, we are continuing to build the capabilities of our inspectors and staff, and equipping our centers with smart technologies, devices, and artificial intelligence applications that raise the efficiency of examination and inspection and speed up processing — without compromising protection and customs compliance requirements,” he added.
The operation’s ability to absorb surges was tested in May 2026, when geo-economic pressures pushed import volumes at Cargo Village at Dubai International Airport and the Air Cargo Centre at Al Maktoum International Airport to 48.26 million kilogrammes, compared to around 26.56 million kilogrammes in January of the same year, growth of nearly 82%.
Peak daily throughput reached 2.11 million kilogrammes in May, up from 1.24 million kilogrammes in January.
