Starting from November, travellers will be able to pass through check-in, immigration and boarding using a single biometric access – their facial print – at Terminal 3 of Dubai International Airport. The announcement was made by Major General Obaid Muhair bin Suroor, Deputy Director-General, General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs in Dubai (GDRFA-Dubai) on the opening day of ‘The International Conference on Policymaking: The Future of Ports’ in Dubai.

The single biometric system of GDRFA-Dubai will be implemented at Terminal 3 of DXB in November, he said, after successful trial runs were held. The project is being rolled out in partnership with Emirates Airlines, which operates out of Terminal 3. “This is the process of a traveller using the biometric system from check in – passing through immigration, any checkpoints, accessing lounges for first or business class, boarding – until the traveller gets on the plane,” Maj Gen Bin Suroor said. “We have been working on this one biometric project for two years. The idea behind this is to make passenger journey 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 what we see now,” said Major General Suroor.

The single biometric use will increase the number of airport passengers and eliminate the need for check-in or immigration counters, providing a seamless experience for passengers. Currently, there are 120 smart gates operational at Dubai International, and the aim is to reach 150 by the end of this year or early next year