Dubai Airport trolley a guide to Duty Free deals

Soon, every passenger at the UAE airports will have their own guide – not a customer care executive, but a smart trolley.
 
Smart trolleys may be introduced in the near future at the emirate’s airports, which will route passengers through the huge airports and also guide them to the departure gate.
 
Not just that, passengers may also be informed about sales or discounts offered by the duty free shops at the airport through a soon-to-be-launched app, with the smart trolleys displaying such offers, said Thani Al Zaffin, Director General of Emaratech, a technology and consulting firm and subsidiary of Investment Corporation of Dubai.
 
The new technology could also guide the airport or airline staff to the passengers if they’re stranded, or busy shopping at duty free and late to board the flight.
 
According to a study by aviation think-tank Capa, UAE passenger traffic is likely to increase from over 101 million in 2014 to between 160 and 170 million annually by 2020, which will make UAE the biggest aviation hub in the world.
 
By the year 2020, the Dubai International and Al Maktoum International Airport will handle between 98.5 million and 103.5 million passengers.
 
Capa said Abu Dhabi passenger traffic is likely to grow at the fastest pace in comparison to other airports in the UAE, expanding at 50 per cent over the next three years, touching 30 million per annum in 2017 and 40 million by 2020.

According to Al Zaffin, the new technology will soon be ready for implementation, and passengers will need to simply push the trolley through the new smart gates to get scanned.

The trolley will then guide them to their desired gate.

“If you have a smartphone and our app, you just swap your phone with the smart trolley or the boarding card, put your belongings on the trolley and just push it through the security scanner.

“It’s not just the trolley that we are investing in, but the new scanner that uses latest patent technology where it will know whether it’s liquid or the stuff that one cannot carry in his hand baggage,” he added.

He said the company is piloting the project this summer in Europe with a partner.

“Technology is not just limited to the trolley but also the scanner.

“We are encouraging the trolley because you get navigation, guidance, offers and discounts,” he said.

The passenger will walk through the new smart gates in just 15-20 seconds, he added.

He said all the smart gates at UAE airports will be equipped with the latest technology by 2020.

He believes that the new technology will increase efficiency from an average 250 to 400-plus passengers per hour at the airports.