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DUBAI, UAE - 27 June 2012 - Emirates Group Security has been honoured by the United Kingdom Border Agency (UKBA) in a ceremony with His Highness (H.H.) Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline & Group. Recognising the outstanding efforts made by Emirates Group Security in cooperating with the UK Border Agency in combatting fraud and criminality for the protection of the UK and UAE borders, the United Kingdom’s top representative the UAE, HM Ambassador Dominic Jeremy CVO OBE, recently presented the award.
The award is a reflection of the long history of cooperation between Emirates and the UKBA and highlights Emirates’ prevention of inadequately documented passengers from reaching the UK. Emirates serves more UK destinations, six, than any other carrier in the Gulf with over 105 flights a week. In 2012 to date, 2.4 million passengers have travelled to the UK on Emirates. Volume of traffic this large presents unique challenges and requires enormous efforts to ensure the safety of the UK and UAE borders. The Emirates Group Security team has an outstanding record of enforcing and protecting border security; with only four incorrectly documented passengers arriving in the UK so far this year.
Further solidifying the relationship with the UKBA, last year Emirates Group Security began supporting prosecutions in the UK through the innovative use of video evidence from Dubai; leading to the successful conviction and imprisonment of a suspects in the UK. Convictions through the cooperation such as this stands as a true deterrent to people smugglers and is mutually-beneficial the both UK and the UAE, dissuading others from using Dubai as an embarkation point for fraudulent travel. In 2011, for example, 255 incorrectly documented passengers were denied boarding in Dubai, accounting for over 160 with fraudulent documents identified. Detecting these criminal activities saved the UK taxpayer over £2m in support and processing costs for the year.
“With the increasingly inter-connected world we live in, Emirates Group Security recognises that security does not end at traditional borders anymore. Hence, our work with Agencies such as the UK Border Agency are key to ensuring clear oversight for both identifying criminal activity but, more importantly, for the security of the millions of Emirates passengers,” said Dr. Abdulla Al Hashimi, Divisional Senior Vice-President, Emirates Group Security.
Unique in the region, the UK has had an Airline Liaison Officer in Dubai since 1999 and there are currently three UK-based officers in post supporting the Dubai Airport operation. Adding to the wide range of cooperation between Emirates and the UKBA, Emirates Group Security also enjoys ‘Approved Gate Check Status;” meaning that because of the strong performance of the Emirates Group Security document check team, Emirates is granted special dispensation for passengers who arrive in the UK with no travel documents.
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