UAE £2.3bn hi-tech airport to introduce 'passport-free' travel

Abu Dhabi's Zayed International Airport in the United Arab Emirates is a £2.3 billion hi-tech facility which is on track to be the world's first passport-free airport by 2025.

The airport's "Smart Travel Project", will implement biometric sensors at all checkpoints, such as check-in counters, immigration booths, duty-free tills, airline lounges, and boarding gates.

The airport's innovative approach was praised Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently with the words "US needs to catch up", Daily Express reported.

Andrew Murphy, the chief information officer at Abu Dhabi Airport said: "We're expanding to nine touchpoints and this would be a world first. It's designed with no pre-enrollment required, passengers are automatically recognized and authenticated as they move through the airport, significantly speeding up the entire process."

Murphy explained that anyone who arrives for the first time in the UAE, be it residents or tourists, has their biometrics collected at immigration by the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs & Port Security (ICP).

He added: "Where the real unique nature comes in is that this particular biometric solution here is to partner with ICP to utilise that data in order to make this passenger experience seamless. And that's why everybody can use it."

According to a survey by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), 75% of passengers prefer using biometric data over paper passports and boarding passes.

For those who are uncomfortable with the technology, traditional verification processes will still be available.

Louise Cole, head of customer experience and facilitation for IATA, said that one of the reasons the industry is so behind in getting to that fully contactless biometric experience is that "it's hard to imagine any other consumer process that you go through where you have to stop and prove something again and again and again."

However, Singapore's Changi Airport adopting this technology in collaboration with the government's immigration authority to develop a biometric clearance system available to both residents and tourists.

The system will be rolled out gradually, beginning this month.

Hong Kong International Airport, Tokyo Narita, Tokyo Haneda, and Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International have also introduced biometric terminals at various points during transit.