Dubai: The head of Dubai Airports wants to get rid of everything you hate about travel.
From queues and document checks to the long walks from one gate to another, Paul Griffiths, chief executive officer of Dubai Airports, believes technology can remove the pain from travel.
In a speech on Monday, Griffiths painted a picture of a future where the airport experience for passengers is significantly different than it is today. The CEO said that change, driven by technology, is needed in order to meet the expected increase in passenger capacity.
“Imagine an airport with no check-in, no immigration, and discreet, non-intrusive security all enabled through contact with a single identity data base held securely and available to those who currently need physical evidence of our identity as we travel,” Griffiths said.
Speaking at the Airport Show, which opened in Dubai on Monday, he said that the use of fingerprint scanners, for example, could eliminate the need for immigration and document check desks. This would require authorities to obtain fingerprints of every traveller and connect that to security details about each person.
“If this technology takes just a few milliseconds to provide red or green go/no-go decisions, then the speed of processing of millions of people travelling globally could be dramatically improved,” Griffiths said.
And beyond security checks, technology can go much further in improving the experience passengers have while travelling.
“Imagine if we didn’t actually have to build an airport terminal,” the CEO said.
“If we orientate the entire airport process around the customer instead of the convenience of the supply chain, we could make the start of the journey the single point of check-in and consolidate everything into a seamless process.”
He said the use of unmanned transport pods that take customers straight to the plane would be another way of enhancing the travel experience.
But it’s not just about simplifying the process for passengers and airport operators. Griffiths said such a change in the use of technology at airports is key to cope with the projected 1.8 billion annual passenger journeys by 2034.
The i8th edition of Airport Show was opened by Shaikh Ahmad Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation, Chairman and CEO of Emirates Airline and Group and Chairman of Dubai Airports. He said that the aviation sector is expected to continue growing, accounting for 38 per cent of the UAE’s gross domestic product in the future.
The event showcased the latest technology and innovations in airports, with over 300 exhibitors from 90 countries taking part.
