Frequent flyers to Dubai can avoid waiting for eye scan soon

Passengers’ biometric data (iris and facial recognition features) will be recorded and stored on the system automatically on their first entry through Dubai Airports, meaning on their second visit onwards, they will not need to go through eye scan again, senior officials told news agency WAM.

"At present, visitors have to go through eye scan each time they enter the UAE and there is a designated counter for this purpose at border control, Brigadier Talal Al Shanaqeti, general director of Airport Passport Affairs Sector at the GDRFA Dubai, was reported as saying.

The biometric verification using iris scan ensures that unwanted people cannot re-enter the UAE with new identities using forged travel document, the official pointed out. "The new system will help visitors save their time while arriving at Dubai Airports, as they will not spend time for eye scan as an additional procedure. It will be done while they are walking through the passport control counter," Al Shanaqeti added.

“Foreigners having a residence visa in the UAE do not need to undergo this process at border control, as their biometric data have already been taken and stored on the UAE’s official database as part of the Emirates ID application process.”

The GDRFA Dubai has already started installing the advanced new cameras for automatic registration at Terminal 3 - Arrivals.

"We will soon install the new cameras in the other terminals," Al Shanaqeti said.

Noora Salim Al Mazrouei, Director of Future Borders Department at the GDRFA Dubai, said: "At the moment, visitors who are eligible for visa-on-arrival have an option to register their biometric passports at the passport control counter and use Smart Gates that facilitate fast-track clearance."

The 122 Smart Gates at the four Dubai Airports terminals have already put an end to manual stamping on passports, as passengers themselves can scan the travel document and complete the passport control procedures within 9 to 15 seconds, Al Mazrouei said.

Even a Smart Tunnel in its trial phase has been deployed at Terminal 3 [departure] at the Dubai International Airport, the first of its kind in the world.

It facilitates passport control procedure within 10 seconds, as passengers have to simply walk through the tunnel without showing or scanning the travel document, Al Mazrouei pointed out.

Smart Tunnel is open to business and first class passengers only at this trial stage, which will be expanded to other classes in future.

Now, Emiratis, GCC nationals, foreigners having a UAE residence visa, and visitors who get a visa-on-arrival are eligible to register for the smart services and use the Smart Gates, she added.