From January, enter and exit Dubai airports in 22 seconds

Dubai will introduce self-process e-Gates or 'Smart Gates' whereby the passengers won’t have to stand in long passport control queues but  walk straight through the gates by swiping their passports at the e-Gate scanner, said a senior official.

The e-Gates will be equipped with automatic identification system, iris scan and facial imprint, thus allowing passengers to check in or check out of the airport within 22 seconds without entry or exit stampings on their passports, said Major General Mohammed Al Marri, Director of the Department of Residency and Foreigners Affairs at the Dubai Naturalisation and Residency Department.

Both tourists and residents will be able to use this service.

In the first stage, 100 e-Gates would be installed at Terminal 3 in January 2013 and by the end of 2014 all the terminals would be equipped with the e-Gates.

Thani Abdullah Al Zafeen, General Manager of Emaratech, said: “E-Gate will enable quicker passenger traffic and improve security. In case of a fake passport, e-Gate will prevent passengers from entering and alert the officer on duty,” Al Zafeen added.

Data by Statistics Department of DNRD in Dubai showed that the number of passengers travelling through Dubai airports exceeded 50 million last year, including 30 million transit passengers.

Mobile phone

Al Marri also revealed that Dubai plans to introduce a new self-process technology whereby passengers travelling through Dubai airport can enter and exit using their smartphones.

The mobile phones will work as a smart e-gate card and this facility can be used both by  UAE residents and tourists/visitors.

Speaking at a press conference at Gitex, Al Marri said airlines coming to Dubai will share passenger data and this will make help passengers pass through the airport without hassle.

The project is being discussed and evaluated with Dubai airports, Emirates, foreign carriers and Emaratech, a technology and professional services company.

Al Marri refused to disclose the launch date of the project. "We implement a project only after thorough study. All aspects of security will also be taken into account beore implementing the project,” he added.

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