Dubai airport uses facial-recognition tech to help travellers go through passport control in seconds
Over the past six months, 154,000 travellers used Dubai International Airport’s new biometric system, which eliminates the need for identity documents at different points in the airport.
The fast-track “biometric passenger journey” uses face and iris-recognition technology to allow people to complete passport control procedures in as little as five seconds.
The contactless system, launched by the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs, has been installed at 122 smart gates in the arrival and departure halls.
Eight Emirates check-in desks at the airport have also been fitted with biometric scanners.
Passengers registered under the system no longer need to show their passport or boarding pass from the time they check in to when they board the plane.
“Any passenger who wants to use the new, seamless smart travel service needs to preregister their details first,” said Noora Al Mazrouie, Director of the Future Border Department at the directorate.
“First of all, the passenger will have to approach the Emirates check-in counter and register his or her biometrics and facial data at that touch point.
“Then he will get a boarding pass that specifies either smart tunnel or smart gate, so he knows which point to pass through when going through immigration.
“For example, at the smart gate, the passenger will enter the gate and it will verify his biometric passport through a camera.
“The gate will open within seconds without using any documents.”
The same process is used at the boarding gate and when a traveller checks in to the Emirates business and first-class lounges.
Maj Gen Mohammed Al Marri, Director General of the directorate, said the time it took to pass through each stage depended on the movement of the passenger.
“We are always trying to reduce the wait time between each checkpoint in the airport,” Maj Gen Al Marri told The National. “We run on seconds, not minutes. Now, if the passenger stands in front of the camera, stays still and looks where he is supposed to, five seconds is more than enough to complete the procedure.
“Our customers are very important and we want them to walk away with the feeling that Dubai Airport was the best airport they travelled through.
“The journey has to be smooth, quick and stress-free.”
The contactless system has been installed at 122 smart gates in the arrival and departure halls at Dubai Airport