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BEFORE YOU FLY

Dangerous Goods Policy

Dangerous goods, articles, and substances can endanger the aircraft and persons on board. It’s important to read through our Dangerous Goods Policy before packing your bags, so you know what to avoid taking with you on the plane.

In addition to the UAE acceptance rules below, the acceptance of certain items, including alcohol, cigarettes and e-cigarettes, perfumes, electronics, medication and others, either in the cabin or checked-in baggage, will be subject to specific customs regulations and airport security checks in your country of departure or arrival.

Forbidden Items

Forbidden items are articles or substances which pose health and safety hazards to passengers or which may damage the aircraft. These items must not be brought on board. All forbidden items are listed in the tables below. Please also refer to the Prohibited Articles by EC Aviation Security. Further local government restrictions may also apply. Please check with authorities of your departure and destination country.

Emirates forbids the transportation of all smart balance wheels (even with the lithium batteries removed) either as checked-in or carry-on baggage.

Banned substances in the UAE

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has a very strict, zero-tolerance, anti-drugs policy. All airports within the UAE conduct thorough searches using highly sensitive equipment. Possession of any amounts of illegal drugs by travellers entering or transiting the UAE will be subject to punishment.

Bringing medication into the UAE

If you’re carrying controlled medication into the UAE, you must apply for approval through the Ministry of Health (MoH) website.

Check with your doctor if your prescribed medication is controlled or not. You must also carry the prescription for the quantity (max 3 months’ supply) of the medicine that you are bringing into the UAE.

All other medication (prescription for uncontrolled medication and over the counter medication) does not need prior approval from MoH.

For more details please visit the Ministry of Health and Prevention website(Opens an external website in a new tab).

Before you leave for the airport:

Travellers to the UAE are strongly advised to familiarise themselves with what medications they can and cannot bring into the country.

Please contact the nearest Embassy or Consulate of the United Arab Emirates for advice if you are considering taking medications or other drugs into the UAE.

List of United Arab Emirates consulates(Opens an external website in a new tab)

Prohibited Articles by EC Aviation Security

Passengers and cabin baggage - List of prohibited articles

Without prejudice to applicable safety rules, passengers are not permitted to carry the following articles into security restricted areas and on board an aircraft:

(a) guns, firearms and other devices that discharge projectiles — devices capable, or appearing capable, of being used to cause serious injury by discharging a projectile, including:

  • firearms of all types, such as pistols, revolvers, rifles, shotguns,
  • toy guns, replicas and imitation firearms capable of being mistaken for real weapons, component parts of firearms, excluding telescopic sights,
  • compressed air and CO 2 guns, such as pistols, pellet guns, rifles and ball bearing guns,
  • signal flare pistols and starter pistols,
  • bows, cross bows and arrows,
  • harpoon guns and spear guns,
  • slingshots and catapults;

(b) stunning devices — devices designed specifically to stun or immobilise, including:

  • devices for shocking, such as stun guns, tasers and stun batons,
  • animal stunners and animal killers,
  • disabling and incapacitating chemicals, gases and sprays, such as mace, pepper sprays, capsicum sprays, tear gas, acid sprays and animal repellent sprays;

(c) objects with a sharp point or sharp edge — objects with a sharp point or sharp edge capable of being used to cause serious injury, including:

  • items designed for chopping, such as axes, hatchets and cleavers,
  • ice axes and ice picks,
  • razor blades,
  • box cutters,
  • knives with blades of more than 6 cm,
  • scissors with blades of more than 6 cm as measured from the fulcrum,
  • martial arts equipment with a sharp point or sharp edge,
  • swords and sabres;

(d) workmen’s tools — tools capable of being used either to cause serious injury or to threaten the safety of aircraft, including:

  • crowbars,
  • drills and drill bits, including cordless portable power drills,
  • tools with a blade or a shaft of more than 6 cm capable of use as a weapon, such as screwdrivers and chisels,
  • saws, including cordless portable power saws,
  • blowtorches,
  • bolt guns and nail guns;

(e) blunt instruments — objects capable of being used to cause serious injury when used to hit, including:

  • baseball and softball bats,
  • clubs and batons, such as billy clubs, blackjacks and night sticks,
  • martial arts equipment;

(f) explosives and incendiary substances and devices — explosives and incendiary substances and devices capable, or appearing capable, of being used to cause serious injury or to pose a threat to the safety of aircraft, including:

  • ammunition,
  • blasting caps,
  • detonators and fuses, 
  • replica or imitation explosive devices,
  • mines, grenades and other explosive military stores,
  • fireworks and other pyrotechnics,
  • smoke-generating canisters and smoke-generating cartridges,
  • dynamite, gunpowder and plastic explosives.

Hold baggage - List of prohibited articles

Passengers are not permitted to carry the following articles in their hold baggage:

explosives and incendiary substances and devices — explosives and incendiary substances and devices capable of being used to cause serious injury or to pose a threat to the safety of aircraft, including:

  • ammunition,
  • blasting caps,
  • detonators and fuses,
  • mines, grenades and other explosive military stores,
  • fireworks and other pyrotechnics,
  • smoke-generating canisters and smoke-generating cartridges,
  • dynamite, gunpowder and plastic explosives.

Dangerous Goods Policy

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Firearms, weapons and ammunition may be carried as checked baggage on Emirates flights under the following conditions:

    • You must be in possession of the original firearms licence in your name and all original documents stating the appropriate clearances and permissions (if applicable) to export and/or import the firearms, weapons and ammunition.
    • The carriage of any type of firearm, weapon and ammunition must be approved by Emirates no less than three days before your flight. Please complete the firearms form (only available in English) in the Contact us section of our Help Centre to start the approval process. Please allow extra time for public holidays and weekends in your country of residence and the UAE.
    • The firearm must be completely unloaded and, if possible, dismantled and packed inside a suitcase or standard gun case.
    • Ammunition must be securely stored in a strong, sealed box packed inside a suitcase and surrounded by other contents. The suitcase must not bear an ‘Explosive’ label.
    • The maximum gross weight of the ammunition carried by any single customer is 5kg (11lb). Customers travelling in groups must carry ammunition in their own separate bags, with no single bag carrying more than the 5kg (11lb) limit.
    • All fireworks and any other items containing explosives (for example, Christmas crackers, firecrackers, bottle rockets, poppers and sparklers) are forbidden to be carried either as carry-on baggage or as checked baggage on our flights.

    The following special conditions apply to customers wishing to carry firearms on flights into or through Dubai:

    • Customers who wish to bring firearms and ammunition into the UAE must obtain prior clearance from UAE Customs and the UAE Ministry of Defence. To obtain this clearance, customers must contact these government departments directly.
    • For transfer and transit customers who are connecting to onward flights, prior clearance to travel with firearms and ammunition must be obtained from the Dubai Airport Police Department and the Department of Civil Aviation.

  • If you’re travelling to perform Haj or Umrah and your itinerary includes Madinah or Jeddah, you may pack up to five litres of Islamic Holy Water of Zamzam in addition to your checked‑in baggage allowance. Just make sure to package the Zamzam water appropriately in a sealed container and it will be carried in a special area of the cargo hold.

  • ‘Smart’ or ‘innovative’ baggage includes bags with motors, power banks, GPS, GSM, Bluetooth, RFID or Wi-Fi technology. There are restrictions on carrying smart bags with lithium batteries as both cabin and checked baggage on all our flights.

    For cabin baggage

    Smart bags within the cabin size and weight allowance for your route are allowed in the cabin as long as the battery is removable. The battery can stay in the bag as longs as the bag is powered off completely. Please note that you can’t charge the bag on board.

    For checked baggage

    Smart bags are allowed as checked-in baggage if the battery is removed and carried in the cabin, and the baggage is within the checked baggage size and weight allowances for your route.

    Please be aware that smart bags with built-in batteries that can’t be removed are banned both as cabin and checked in baggage.

    You can visit our Dangerous Goods page for a full list of prohibited items.

If you still have questions about baggage, visit the Baggage and lost property FAQs page​​​​​​​ or read all FAQs.