Two children were thrilled when they were able to enter the immigration control cabin and stamp their own passports at Dubai International Airport.
Isobel, 9, and her brother Charles, 6, arrived in Dubai on Tuesday, and were curious to know what the passport control officers do behind their desks.
As they were standing beside their parents, a senior officer greeted them and invited them into the immigration check cabin.
Lt Gen Mohammed Al Merri, director general of the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs in Dubai, was on an inspection visit when he saw the two children and decided to surprise them.
He told the children about the work of passport control officers and even allowed them to put the entry stamps on their own passports.
“We were returning to Dubai after the summer holiday in the UK when Isobel and Charles received a real treat at the airport. Officers allowed them to stamp their own passports. It was a wonderful experience,” Steve Thomas Williams, the children's father, told The National.
Lt Gen Al Merri explained to Isobel and Charles how the officers check passengers' passports.
“Usually passport control is a high-security area but in Dubai, they broke down the barriers and a senior officer offered a special experience to the children,” said Mr Williams, who is the chief executive of a company in Dubai.
Mr Williams and his wife Claire have lived in Dubai for the past 18 years. Their children were born in the UAE and go to a school in Al Barsha.
“Mr Al Merri explained to them all about passport checks. He was very kind to them and they were happy,” said Mr Williams.
“They replied 'Shukran Jazeelan', which means thank you very much in Arabic.”
