Marhaba, it’s the Arabic word for “Welcome”. It’s also the name for dnata’s Meet & Greet service at Dubai International Airport and other airports around the world. During my trip to Dubai for the 2025 Dubai Airshow, I decided to book the service to meet me upon arrival in Dubai.

At Dubai International Airport, Marhaba offers a range of meet and greet tiers for arriving, departing, and transiting passengers. This can range from simply skipping the queue at immigration, all the way to being escorted all the way from the plane to your front door.

I Booked The “Silver” Package For Arrivals

Credit: dnata

I decided to book the Marhaba meet and greet package as I had 7,050 Emirates Skywards Miles that were due to expire at the end of the year. The silver package was available for 9,220 Skywards Miles booked three days out.

At the time of writing, the silver package was quoted at €43.26 ($49.83). This gives a points value of 0.54 cents per mile. While this may seem poor value, these points would likely have expired otherwise, which would have given a value of 0 cents per mile.

According to the Marhaba website, the packages for arriving passengers are:

My Experience Using Marhaba

Credit: Tom Boon | Simple Flying

My flydubai flight parked at a remote bus gate. This meant there was quite a long ride from the aircraft to the terminal. As soon as we stepped into the terminal, I was greeted by a Marhaba representative holding a board with my name on it. I effectively got the gold package for the price of the silver package, as no other travellers had booked the service on my flight. The walk from the gate to immigration was not long, and once we arrived, my agent walked me directly to the front of the line.

Through immigration, we picked up a porter who took my luggage claim tag (the small part of the luggage tag that is typically placed on the back of your boarding pass). I was instructed to sit down while they waited for my bag. Of course, my bag had to make the same long journey as me, meaning the wait took some time, though this is not a reflection of the Marhaba service.

Having missed the last metro, I opted to use a taxi booked through Bolt to get to my hotel. The Marhaba representative and the porter both accompanied me all the way to the vehicle, even loading my bags into the taxi.

My Overall Thoughts On Marhaba

Credit: Tom Boon | Simple Flying

Overall, it took me about an hour from landing at Dubai International to leaving the airport in a taxi. However, the long journey was solely caused by the size of the airport. Having the Marhaba service sped things up at every point possible. The bus also dropped us off right above the immigration hall, meaning that with the airport-generated delays, I don’t feel I personally saved much time. That being said, I think this service would be perfect if arriving at a much farther (by foot) gate.

At the airshow, I had a chat with Dnata CEO, Steve Allen, about a wide range of things, including Marhaba. Commenting on the service, he told me:

“We’re gradually putting [Marhaba] all over the world, which people are now looking for… If you feel nervous about flying, having somebody meet you off the aircraft is just so reassuring. My sister contacted me yesterday and said ‘Please book me Marhaba when I come [to Dubai] because I love it when I walk off that plane and somebody’s there going I’m here for you.’”

Would I book it again? In one word, yes. It would depend on the time of day and the flight I am taking. In this instance, I think I would have found the service more valuable on departure, where I was faced with some queues and longer walking times.