Dubai: Dubai International Airport passengers no longer need to wait in long queues for passport control procedures as they may use their Emirates Identity cards to pass through the electronic gates (e-Gates) at the arrival wing of Terminal Three.
The General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) has completed the activation of e-Gate service through the use of the Emirates ID, a service which requires no prior registration, reported Gulf News.
The new service will benefit all residents and citizens who already carry an Emirates ID card. In the first phase it has been activated in Terminal Three arrivals, which currently has 28 e-Gates, Major General Obaid Muhair Bin Surour, deputy director-general of the GDRFA, was quoted as saying.
“The new project has been implemented in cooperation with the Emirates Identity Authority to further improve our services and ensure a pleasant and smooth experience for all passengers,” he reportedly said.
Major General Bin Surour added that the e-Gate service using the ID card has a lot of benefits, one of them being the fact that it only requires a single card to travel.
“The service will soon be activated in all other terminals as well. As part of the first phase, we have implemented it at the arrival wing of Terminal three, but in the following phases of the project, the service will be activated in Terminals one, two, and three at both the arrivals and departures wings,” he reportedly said.
He explained that there aren’t any charges or prior registration for using this service, it only requires a valid Emirates ID.
Lt Colonel Talal Al Shanqeeti, assistant of the director-general for airport affairs at the GDRFA, had also said the activation of this project is vital as it facilitates smooth and swift entry and exit of passengers holding an Emirates ID and achieves high efficiency in handling passenger procedures.
Dubai International Airport was the first in the region to implement the e-Gate system in 2002, and the third airport in the world to do so. The e-Gate system reads passport information and captures biometric data, including facial recognition, in 12 to 14 seconds. All these procedures are completed while maintaining a high-level accuracy and security standards, officials were quoted as saying by Gulf News.
