Dubai: The General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs in Dubai (GDRFA Dubai) has announced that the passport counters and smart gates at Dubai airports handled around 26 million passengers during the first half of this year, of whom more than 9 million passengers used the 120 smart gates to complete entry and exit procedures within seconds.
Lieutenant General Mohammed Ahmed Al Marri, director-general of GDRFA Dubai, said the passport counters and smart gates at Dubai airports are fully prepared to receive large numbers of passengers, especially during the holiday season.
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Growing popularity
Major General Talal Al Shanqeeti, Assistant Director-General, Airports Sector, GDRFA Dubai, said the number of passengers is expected to continue to increase, which will contribute to raising the number of travellers using smart gates during the second half of the year, which includes the long Eid Al Adha break and summer vacation.
Likewise, after the end of the summer vacation, families return to the UAE in time for the start of a new school year, at the end of August.
Maj Gen Al Shanqeeti added that the users of the smart gates during the first half accounted for 36 per cent of the total number of passengers.
“We hope that the number of smart gate users will reach 50 per cent by the end of the year, as we are working continuously to develop the service for the largest number of travellers to avoid any delays,” he said.
