Trials underway to integrate check-in with immigration at Dubai Airports

Dubai: Dubai Airports and the General Directorate of Residency and Foreign Affairs (GDRFA) are currently trialling a system that would integrate check-in processes with immigration, said Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths.

“Currently, GDRFA is working on integrating the check-in process with airlines, particularly Emirates and flydubai, along with the immigration process,” said Griffiths.

“When we capture data at check-in, that data is automatically translated into the records necessary to facilitate a smooth departure. This allows us to eliminate the need for a separate immigration process, taking something out of that area,” he told Gulf News.

When asked if the new system would be implemented at Dubai International Airport (DXB), Griffiths said, “I know that operational trials are currently happening in the UAE, but as for implementation, we’ll need to see the results and address any issues before rolling it out at scale. Once we are ready, I can assure you that we’ll move quickly.”

Griffiths’ comments about streamlining services at the world’s busiest hub follow an economic impact report (compiled by Oxford Economics) issued by Dubai Airports and the city’s flagship airline, Emirates, on Thursday morning. The report outlines the aviation sector’s contribution to Dubai’s economy.

Smoother security process

“I think it’s important to recognise that an airport can be divided into flow and dwell. The flow side of the airport is very much about the arrivals and departures process. When you arrive at the airport, we want to eliminate as many processes as possible,” he stated.

Griffiths said plans are underway to make the security process “much smoother and less intrusive.” “The current security process is pretty horrible, and it creates a poor service experience in many airports. The idea that travellers are subjected to a sort of military-style interrogation at airport security is something we need to move away from,” he stated.

“Security needs to remain robust and secure, but it should operate in the background, so the customer barely perceives the security process,” said the CEO.

To make this happen, Griffiths is suggesting a process to validate passengers off-site so that when they arrive, Dubai Airports would only need a simple facial recognition match between the passenger and their travel and immigration records.

“This process can be completed in literally a couple of seconds. This would eliminate the need for check-in queues, and customers wouldn’t need to handle paperwork or tags for their bags. We want to reach a point where passengers can simply breeze through the departure process,” he added.

Future of aviation

The world’s busiest hub raised its annual forecast for the emirate’s main hub to 93 million passengers in 2024, up from an earlier forecast of 91.8 million. To meet the rapidly growing demand, the government of Dubai also approved the development of a new passenger terminal in Al Maktoum International Airport, also known as Dubai World Central (DWC), worth Dh128 billion earlier this year.

Griffiths said construction of the new passenger terminal at DWC has yet to begin, and plans are currently in the detailed design phasd. “At this point, there’s a there’s a lot of tweaks to be done before the design is finalised. We are in active talks with our Dubai Aviation Engineering Projects (DAEP) partners,” he said.

While the expansion of DWC is not included in the study’s main impact results, the construction project is expected to contribute an estimated Dh6.1 billion to Dubai’s GDP in 2030 and support 132,000 jobs.

Jobs in aviation

According to the report, the aviation sector will create 185,000 new jobs in the next five years. According to Griffiths, this would lead to a lot of direct and indirect employment, and plans are in place to hire several people in customer-facing roles to ensure passengers receive a high-quality experience.

“A lot of these jobs are driven by the volume created by the expansion of the aviation sector in the city. There are direct and indirect employment opportunities here,” he said.

He added that by 2027, Dubai Airports will be very close to 100 million in total passenger throughput through the airport. “Even though we’re investing heavily in AI and technology to boost efficiency—over the last 15 years, we’ve increased the customer throughput ratio to staff by sixfold—we’ve become a much more efficient organisation. Much of this has been enabled by our investments in technology,” he said.

“Moving forward, however, what we cannot allow to degrade is the level of customer service. We’ll be employing many more people in customer-facing roles to ensure passengers receive a high-quality experience,” he stated.

The CEO said indirect employment in the hospitality industry will also grow in line with aviation. “As more aircraft are added, more pilots, cabin crew, and engineers will be needed. These roles will primarily be in skilled areas—pilots, cabin crew, engineers, and frontline customer service staff,” he stated.

Griffiths said that more jobs will also be created in the hospitality industry, including hotels, attractions, and taxi services. All of these areas will grow to support Dubai’s vibrant, customer-driven tourism and hospitality sectors.