By introducing a full biometric system for check-in, immigration, and boarding operations, Dubai International Airport is ready to revolutionise the passenger experience.
This two-year-old “smart journey” effort attempts to improve the efficiency of passenger transit by employing distinctive physical or behavioural features for identification. Major General Obaid bin Suroor, the GDRFA’s Deputy Director-General, stated that this method will ultimately replace traditional immigration desks.
The use of biometrics at multiple phases of the travel process, including as check-in, immigration, lounge access, and boarding, will provide a more seamless travel experience. This technology, which eliminates the need for tangible identity documents, is set to become available very soon.
In the near future, the goal is for 80% of passengers to use smart gates and similar technologies, with iris and facial biometrics playing critical roles. In the first half of the year, 37% of travellers, or more than 42 million people, used smart gates for airport and immigration operations.
To handle the increased number of customers, the airport intends to dramatically increase the number of functioning smart gates.
Image credit: GT
