DOHA, QATAR – Hamad International Airport (HIA) has launched the second phase of its innovative Smart Airport program which sets to initiate an exciting major digital transformation of the passenger journey through facial biometric recognition across all key passenger touch points.

The system, currently under trial, is a central piece of the airports digital strategy and combines passengers’ flight, passport, and facial biometric information in a single electronic record at the self-check-in kiosk or mobile app. Subsequently, only the passenger’s face is required for verification at the self-service bag-drop, automated security gate, and the automated boarding gate, making the experience fast and seamless. Knowledge of exactly where the passengers are in their journey at the airport will also aim to help further improve the renowned on-time at HIA.

The successful completion of the first major phase of HIA’s Smart Airport program has proven to be extremely popular, with up to 40% of the home carrier Qatar Airways’ passengers preferring to self-check-in; and a further 20% opting for self-bag-drop. The swift process vastly improves customer experience and allows more passengers to be managed without physical expansion of the check-in facilities. It also empowers HIA passengers by offering total control of their journey from arrival to departure.

Engr. Badr Mohammed Al Meer, Chief Operating Officer at HIA stated: “In line with our vision and strategic plan, we continue to invest in customer-centric innovative technology to provide fast, seamless and enjoyable travel experience to be the airport of choice for our discerning customers. Our approach to identity management is unique and holistic, in that we foresee wide-scale deployment of biometric capability across both mandated and voluntary passenger touch points while addressing customer data privacy concerns in line with relevant local and international regulations.”

HIA’s Smart Airport program is helping optimize operational processes; and utilization of resources and assets at the airport, for instance, the Service Delivery Measurement system enables real-time monitoring of passenger wait times, thus allowing tactical decisions to recover service levels by deploying additional resources when the wait time exceeds targets. The performance trends also help inform design decisions for future terminal capacity and passenger flows, a benefit to HIA as it begins the next phase of its expansion plan this year. Another example is the airports ongoing implementation of Airport Collaborative Decision Making (ACDM) platform. Once fully operational, this platform will enable more effective collaboration between all airport stakeholders to optimize flight turn around processes, further improving HIA’s efficiency and on-time performance.

HIA’s continued efforts and investment in cutting-edge technology through its Smart Airport program are recognised through its awards and accolades. The airport ranked the World’s 4th Best Airport by SKYTRAX 2019 and was named the Best Airport for Passenger Experience for the second consecutive year in a study by AirHelp. It also ranked 2nd best airport in the world for On-Time Performance (OTP) in OAG’s Punctuality League report and was winner for the Service Delivery Measurement in the Smart Transport Solution of the Year category at the Qatar IT Business Awards 20018. The awards recognise HIA’s commitment to the highest environmental standards and to responsible business practices as well as innovative facilities, five-star customer service, and state-of-the-art terminal.

HIA, the gateway to Qatar and to the World.

Positioned at the edge of the Arabian Gulf, Hamad International Airport’s tranquil waterside setting provides a perfect backdrop for its stylish architectural elements, underpinned by advanced airport systems in line with its ‘Smart Airport’ vision. Operating 24/7, the airport features two runways, a state-of-the-art air traffic control tower and currently processes 30 million passengers per year and 360,000 aircraft per year. With over 40,000 square meters of combined retail, food and beverage facilities, unmatched spa facilities and a collection of unique art pieces from internationally acclaimed artists, HIA is a destination on its own, designed for the modern trave­ller. 

Qatar Airways, Qatar Duty Free and Hamad International Airport will jointly host the world's most influential airport commercial revenues conference, The Trinity Forum. The conference, organised by The Moodie Davitt Report, ACI World and ACI Asia-Pacific, will take place in Doha from 30-31 October 2019.

HIA is a five-star airport by Skytrax and ranked Fourth Best Airport in the World by the 2019 Skytrax World Airport Awards.

Further contact details:
Hamad International Airport,
Commercial and Marketing Department
Tel: +974 4010 2523
Fax: +974 4010 4010
E-mail: hiamedia@hamadairport.com.qa 

© Press Release 2019

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