Over 21 million passengers experience seamless travel at Dubai airports

The General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) in Dubai has announced that over 21 million passengers experienced seamless travel through Dubai airports in 2023.

HE Major General Talal Al Shanqeeti, Assistant Director General of the Airports Sector at the Directorate, said that Dubai International Airport has been utilising electronic gates since 2002, initially relying on e-gate cards. In 2017, a transition occurred to smart gates, which operated using passport documents, Emirates ID, electronic gate cards, and  iris scanners.

However, following the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent measures implemented at Dubai airports and globally, the requirement for documents at smart gates was eliminated. This change marked a shift towards activating proactive services for smooth travel using smart gates, streamlining the process, and enhancing the efficiency of passenger transit.

Major General Al Shanqeeti noted that the number of smart gates at Dubai airports has reached 127, spread across all terminals (1-2-3-Al Maktoum). Their usage has seen a steady increase since 2017, with the number of passengers using smart gates growing from 5.688 million in 2017 to 7.322 million in 2018, 8.476 million in 2019, and a substantial jump to 13.419 million in 2022. The peak was reached in 2023, with a record of 21.170 million passengers.

In 2018–2019, modern cameras were installed at all entry/exit points to record passengers' biometric data. This upgrade contributed significantly to the increase in smart gate users, tripling the number from 5.5 million in 2017 to 13.4 million in 2022. Al-Shanqeeti revealed that 50% of travellers now use smart gates for smooth travel, resulting in a customer satisfaction rate soaring to 98%.