Prime Highlights
- Dubai Airport launches AI-powered passenger corridor to replace passport checks
- Travellers clear immigration in 14 seconds with no documents required
Key facts
- Up to 10 passengers can pass through the corridor simultaneously, streamlining travel at scale.
- AI system automatically identifies irregularities in security review, ensuring greater safety and accelerated clearance.
Background
The Dubai International Airport (DXB), the world’s leading international hub, has introduced the most innovative AI-based passenger corridors include where passengers can pass through immigration processes in just a few seconds- without even presenting a document. The initiative, part of Dubai’s ambitious “Travel Without Borders” programme, is being hailed as a game-changer in global air travel.
Rather than lining up at passport desks or struggling with boarding passes, passengers just walk through the corridor and advanced face identification and biometric verification identify them in just 14 seconds. The machine has a capacity of up to 10 passengers at a time, integrating speed, security, and convenience into a single integrated operation.
Lieutenant General Mohammed Ahmed Al Marri, Director General of the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA-Dubai), said the new system eliminates the need for traditional passport counters, smart gates, or manual document checks. “This is the future of seamless travel,” he noted.
Dubai has experimented with AI at airports before. In 2020, it launched the “smart tunnel”, which allowed passengers to walk through a biometric zone instead of standing in line. The newly unveiled corridor takes the concept further by continuously cross-referencing biometric records in real time, identifying irregularities for expert review, and allowing security teams to intervene only when necessary.
The AI corridor has been initially rolled out at Terminal 3’s First and Business Class lounges, with plans for wider deployment under the “Unlimited Smart Travel” programme. Authorities ultimately aim to phase out passport control altogether, making border checks invisible to passengers.
Handling over 80 million travellers annually, DXB has topped global rankings for international passenger traffic for 11 consecutive years. Officials believe the AI corridor will not only reduce bottlenecks but also set a scalable model for airports worldwide.
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