The recent tour of Dubai International Airport by Vice President and Prime Minister of and Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, to assess the services provided to travellers, reflects the strategic importance of the borders control in his vision and its crucial role in synchronising different economic sectors to work in full capacity.
Major General Mohammed Al Marri, Director General of General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs in Dubai (GDRFA-Dubai), said Sheikh Mohammed instructed passport control officers to deal with travellers in a friendly manner with a never-fading smile, and to provide assistance to children, women, sick and elderly travellers.
Sheikh Mohammed highlighted the tremendous importance of improving travellers experience and their satisfaction levels through superior service, elimination of hassles and better human approach.
GDRFA-Dubai has announced plans to register four million travellers over the next three years for Smart gates introduced in January 2013 at the Dubai International Airport, ranked the world's busiest airport for international passengers with a projection of 70 million passengers in 2014.
Equipped with automatic identification system, facial imprint and automatic iris scan, Smart gates are designed to facilitate passengers complete their passport control procedures at the Dubai's two international airports in a very short span of time without standing in long queues for stamping their passports.
Unveiling details about the Smart gates expansion in the September edition of Manafez Dubai (www.manafezdubai.com), GDRFA-Dubai's newsletter, Major General Obaid Moheir bin Suroor, Deputy Director General of GDRFA-Dubai, said: "Smart gates will not only enable us to absorb the increasing number of passengers and guarantee smooth flow of traffic at the airport, but also improve security." GDRFA-Dubai is giving finishing touches to a campaign it plans to launch to create wider awareness about the smart gates and to broaden its user numbers to four million travellers in the next three years.
U.A.E. nationals, residents and visitors can register for the smart gates at GDRFA-Dubai headquarters, Dubai International Airport's Terminal 1 and 3, Emirates Airlines headquarters and dnata.
The GDRFA-Dubai is aiming to have 102 smart gates at Dubai International and Al Maktoum International airports by the end of the second phase of the programme which was launched with only 12 smart gates.
Major General Obaid briefed Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum about the GDRFA-Dubai's plan of action during his recent tour of the Dubai International to review of work progress on the infrastructure and facilities of Concourse D due to open next year.
Costing Dh4 billion, Concourse D is designed to handle 18 million passengers annually and enough to accommodate 17 aircrafts, including giant Airbus A380 and Boeing 777. It will be connected to Terminal 1 through an elevated rail link stretching 350 meters to facilitate the movement of travellers to Concourse D.
GDRFA has taken another major step to fasten and smooth passenger facilitation at the Dubai International through an electronic linkage with Emirates Airlines. The first of its kind project in the Middle East region will reduce travel time for departures by a whopping 50 per cent from the current 30 minutes when completed.
He also disclosed new systems and procedures will be implemented soon to speed up travel for arrivals, including new software and Advance Passengers Information System (APIS). These systems and procedures will reduce travel time for arrivals by 60 per cent.
The newsletter offers details about the new visa fee structure introduced in the U.A.E. on August 1 in line with the U.A.E. Cabinet decision. The new visa system is expected to give a boost to cruise and medical tourism in addition to attracting property investors.
Thani Abdulla Al Zaffin, Director General and Board Member of emaratech–the strategic technology partner of GDRFA-Dubai–said the GDRFA-Dubai's Mobile application, launched as part of the Smart Dubai initiative, offers a variety of services for individuals and establishments. The services include payment gateway, visa enquiry, on arrival visa extension and generating barcode to enter smart gate at Dubai airports.
Ghassan Aridi, CEO of Alpha Tours-the U.A.E.'s top-league tour operator recording double digit growth annually-disclosed plans to open 20 offices over the next five years to tap the growth potential offered by the tourism industry in the region, especially Dubai. He praised GDRFA-Dubai for its proactive policies that has been helping in attracting more visitors and for being a key contributor to the tourism and economy's growth.
In the Opinion Column, Thomas Tass, Chairman and Executive Director of BORDERPOL, welcomed the U.A.E.'s Ministry of Interior - General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs as the new member, the first from the Middle East. In another column, Michelle Kotze, Partner, EY Dubai, argued about the challenges of immigration policy in the era of a gated globalisation.
The newsletter highlighted details of a new Mobile App that is being tested in the US by United Airlines to allow flyers to scan their passports on their smart phones to check in for international flights.
Providing details of Deloitte's Global Migration and Border Management team study, the newsletter said despite unique challenges and varying approaches, border security specialists from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, United Kingdom and the US share a vision for Smart Borders.
In another study, global technology giant HP argued that combining biometrics with the other technologies that are wearable and geo-location or identification at baggage drops and security checkpoints will truly enable the airport experience travellers are seeking today.
The newsletter also published details about the latest World Economic Forum (WEF) study that has put across a strong case about the benefits that countries in a geographical region get from a common visa.