Dubai Airport is working on a unified biometric system for check-ins, immigration, and boarding that will improve speed and efficiency for passengers.

Speaking at a press conference yesterday, the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) said that Dubai International Airport would deploy the technology to identify individuals based on unique physical or behavioral characteristics.

This single system will increase the number of passengers that can be handled by airport staff while eliminating the need for immigration counters, officials explained.

“We have been working on this one biometric project for two years. The idea is to make passenger journeys 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 as we know them today,” said Major General Obaid bin Suroor, deputy director-general of GDRFA.

Meanwhile, Major General Talal Al Shangeti, assistant director-general of the Airport Passport Sector at GDRFA, said that the GDRFA was working with all stakeholders to improve services to make Dubai International Airport one of the best in service.

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Over 42 million passengers used airports and immigration borders, with 37% using smart gates during the January-June period.

“Our target is to reach 80% of people using smart gates and other technologies. We hope to achieve this in a couple of years. We believe Dubai airport will completely deploy biometric technology,” revealed Major General Talal.

Currently, there are 120 operational smart gates at Dubai International Airport, and the aim is to reach 150 by the end of 2023 or early 2024.