Al Maktoum Airport considers one-stop passenger check-in
Idea is part of a plan to challenge London and Hong Kong as hubs
Dubai : Dubai World Central-Al Maktoum International, set to become the world's largest airport, may use one-stop processing to get travellers in and out of aircraft more quickly.
Operator Dubai Airports has trialled Siemens AG technology that allows passengers to pass through check-in, customs, immigration and security screening in one place, James Robinson, head of strategic planning, said at a conference in Sydney on July 28. Travellers usually go to different parts of an airport for each of these steps at present.
"It's out there, it just needs to be driven forward," Robinson said. The airport operator is deciding whether to implement the system, he said.
The new airport is the centre of a planned $32 billion (Dh117.51 billion) travel and logistics development that Dubai is building to boost inbound tourism and challenge London, Singapore and Hong Kong as a global aviation hub. Located about 40 kilometres from Dubai's existing airport, the new airfield will eventually have the capacity to handle 160 million passengers annually using five runways and 14.3 square kilometres of terminal space.
The airport began handling cargo flights in June, with passenger services scheduled to start in March. Emirates, the world's largest international passenger carrier, plans to relocate to a dedicated terminal at the airport, which will be twice the size of Hong Kong Island, he said.
