Arab News, Wednesday, Sep 13, 2023 | Safar 27, 1445
Dubai airport to introduce single biometric system for flight check-in, immigration, boarding
Emirates:
Dubai is working on a project whereby a
single biometric will be used for check-in, immigration and boarding the
aircraft to further facilitate passenger clearance.
While speaking during a press conference on
Tuesday, the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA)
officials said Dubai International Airport would fully deploy biometric
technology to identify individuals based on their unique physical or behavioural
characteristics in the future.
This single biometric use will increase the number of airport passengers and
eliminate the need for immigration counters, providing a smooth and seamless
experience for passengers.
“We have been working on this one biometric project for two years. The idea
behind this is to make passenger journey faster, easier and seamless using one
biometric. For example, passengers coming for check-in will use the same
biometrics in immigration, lounge and boarding the aircraft. We call it a smart
journey. In the future, we may not see classic counters what we see now,” said
Major General Obaid bin Suroor, deputy director-general of GDRFA.
In February 2021, Khaleej Times was given a behind-the-scenes tour of the new
contactless smart travel system that enabled passengers to travel without using
their identification papers. Major General Obaid said this new technology will
be rolled out “very soon.”
Major General Obaid was speaking on the sidelines of a press conference to
announce the upcoming International Conference on Policymaking: The Future of
Ports. Slated to commence on September 19, the two-day event will take place at
Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai, with participants from Asia, Europe, the US and UAE
taking part in the forum.
37% passengers using smart gates
Major General Talal Al Shangeti, assistant director-general of the Airport
Passport Sector at GDRFA, said they’re working with all stakeholders to improve
services as Dubai International Airport is one of the best in service.
He said iris and facial biometrics are the future for a seamless journey of
passengers, starting from checking, immigration, security and final boarding to
aircraft.
More than 42 million passengers, including transit, used airports and
immigration borders, and 37 per cent of them were using smart gates during the
January-June period.
“Our target is to achieve 80 per cent of people using smart gates and other
technologies. We hope to achieve this target in a couple of years. We believe
Dubai airport will completely deploy biometric technology,” said Major General
Talal.
Currently, there are 120 smart gates operational at Dubai International, and the
aim is to reach 150 by the end of this year or early next year, he added.