London - Screening checkpoints can be the biggest hassle for air travellers who are in a rush, but the world’s busiest airport is promising to trim the experience to just 20 seconds.
Officials at Dubai International Airport are preparing to launch a new system that they insist will boost security, while slashing the passenger-checking procedures to less than 20 seconds, Arabian Business reported.
It comes as the government-owned airport experiences rapid growth and expects its traffic to surge from 70.5 million international passengers in 2014 to more than 100 million in 2020.
Dubai stole London Heathrow’s crown last year, becoming the world’s busiest international airport as it emerges as a major hub for long-haul flights between Asia and the West.
With it expecting another year-to-year increase, Dubai International is looking at ways to ease congestion and get people in and out of the airport as quickly as possible.
Obaid Mohair bin Suroor, deputy director-general of Dubai’s General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA), told Arabian Business that it will launch an Advance Passenger Information System (APIS).
He said it will be gradually phased in, starting with Emirates’ first and business class passengers, before expanding to economy class passengers and other carriers.
The system will be used for cruise ship passengers by the middle of this year.
A similar system is already in use in the US, and it requires travellers to submit their passport information, date of birth and a few other details before they check in.
Dubai has become one of the world’s busiest airspaces in just a matter of years, with direct flights to 149 cities which have populations of more than one million.
It serves as the base for Emirates, the largest air carrier in the Middle East.
Emirates, along with other luxury Gulf carriers, have helped to propel Dubai airport’s growth by seizing a bigger share of travel between the West, Asia and Australasia.
Angela Gittens, director-general of Airports Council International, said: “It is truly remarkable to see the progress that Dubai has made over the years, to become the world-class centre of aviation that it is today.
“Dubai is exemplary of the heights that can be reached when governments fully support aviation and understand its potential to be a powerful driver of social and economic progress.”
Paul Griffiths, Dubai International Airport’s chief executive, previously said it would handle a record 79 million passengers in 2015. It plans to boost its annual capacity to 90 million passengers this year, with the opening of a new hall for arrivals and departures, as part of a $7.8bn (R90 trillion) expansion plan.
Daily Mail