UAE To Launch New Smart Gates, Trolleys To Reduce Airport Wait Time

The UAE is planning to introduce new systems in airports to reduce the airport waiting time for passengers, it was announced on Wednesday.

Technology services company Emaratech revealed that it will be rolling out its “UAE Vision” system this month, a data bank that will support the launch of several new initiatives in airports and standardise practices across the country.

One of the new initiatives to be launched is a UAE patented technology called ‘eyen’, a smart gate which will scan passengers much faster than the existing e-gates.

“It will serve as a one-stop shop for all engagements with the border control. Soon as the passenger scans his passport, the gate will verify him – there will be no requirement for a separate eye or fingerprint scan,” explained Thani Alzaffin, director general of Emaratech.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Future of Borders Summit in Dubai, he said that all the new gates in UAE airports will make use of eyen.

“It won’t replace the current gates immediately, but in phases, because of the investments involved.”

The system is expected to be in use across the country’s airports by 2020.

Another initiative being launched is a smart trolley, which will be able to go through the X-ray machine along with the baggage, and also have a touch-screen to provide details to passengers about their flights, gates, retail offers etc.

“It will increase efficiency of airports to handle 400 passengers per hour, from the current average of between 200-250 passengers per hour,” Alzaffin said.

The trolleys will be piloted in Europe this summer, and are slated to be introduced in the UAE before the end of 2015.

A third initiative – as yet unnamed- will provide indoor guidance, navigation and boarding facilitation for passengers. Set to be launched very soon, it will be in the form of an app and related technologies, he said.

None of the new measures will add any additional costs to customers, Alzaffin confirmed.

The UAE’s – and specifically Dubai’s – aviation sector is booming.

Dubai International Airport became the world’s busiest after welcoming around 70.4 million international passengers in 2014, up 6.1 per cent from the 66.4 million in 2013.

With airlines expanding their networks, the city has direct passenger flight connections to 149 cities with populations of over one million people, creating potential export markets of over 916 million people, or 13 per cent of the world’s population.