Emirates Airline has announced an impressive investment of approximately 85 million dirhams to install over 200 cameras equipped with facial recognition technology at Dubai International Airport's Terminal 3.

This advancement allows passengers to navigate the airport from check-in and immigration to boarding gates and lounges using only their facial features, eliminating the need for passports or boarding passes.

Registration for this seamless service is quick and effortless via the Emirates app.

Any Emirates customer, whether a visitor or resident in the UAE, can easily enroll in the smart biometric travel services through the Emirates app or at self-service kiosks at the airport. Once registered, passengers can swiftly move through dedicated biometric areas without waiting in queues during departures or arrivals at Dubai International.

To register for this service, travelers must be 18 years or older and individually enrolled. The registration process takes only a few minutes on the app, requiring users to be members of the Emirates Skywards program. Customers need to scan their passport and take a selfie to match it with their Skywards profile while agreeing for Emirates to use their biometric data stored with the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs.

The Process of Using Facial Recognition for Emirates Customers

  1. Registration: Clients can register through the Emirates app or at airport check-in counters. They must be aged 18 years or older and complete individual registration. A quick registration involves scanning a passport, taking a selfie for matching purposes within their Skywards profile, and consenting to data usage as per regulations.
  2. Smooth Check-in: After registering, travelers can utilize facial recognition technology at self-service kiosks or check-in counters when flying from Dubai, including during transit between connecting flights.
  3. Fast Track Through Smart Gates: Registered travelers can bypass long queues using smart gates operated by Dubai's General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs. A brief pause in front of the camera suffices before proceeding directly to security checks or baggage claim areas. This service caters to UAE citizens, residents, GCC nationals, and visa-on-arrival visitors via smart biometric gates.
  4. Lounge Entry Simplified: Eligible customers gain access to Emirate lounges in Concourse B using facial recognition at dedicated gates-simply face the camera for entry without showing any boarding pass.
  5. Simplified Boarding: Passengers enrolled in this innovative service no longer need boarding passes; they simply walk through biometric-equipped boarding gates in Concourses A, B, and C using facial scans-a facility soon expanding further.

If a traveler has previously visited Dubai or resides there with existing biometric data filed with immigration authorities, Emirates will verify their identity against this database post-registration. For those without such records yet who enroll upon arrival will have temporary profiles created which transition into permanent accounts upon entering Dubai as part of ongoing entries under local databases supporting seamless future transits through Dubai airports without hassle."