The UAE is among the world's leaders in the use of sophisticated technology to streamline airport and border entry into the country, according to airport IT giant SITA.

Automated passport control (APC) kiosks have already been implemented in the Abu Dhabi International Airport, allowing nationals of 39 countries flying to the US to be processed in under 60 seconds and significantly reducing time spent waiting in queues.

Additionally, automated kiosks increase the per-officer efficiency of immigration officers by increasing the processing capacity of an airport by using the same number of staff. In the US, for example, APC kiosks have been able to deliver 400 per cent improvement in passenger "throughput” per officer.

In an interview with Khaleej Times, Hani el-Assaad, SITA's president for the Middle East, India and Africa, said automated kiosks help authorities manage the airport better and focus on potential threats.

"Apart from providing passengers with an improved overall travel experience and customer service, our APC kiosks also help border control officials maintain robust security.

"Among the benefits is a renewed focus just on the enforcement aspect of the inspection, which is the personal interview, speaking to the traveller, listening to their answers and watching their behavioural responses,” el-Assaad said.

The use of technology to speed up processes at airports and borders is likely to become increasingly important because of the UAE's role as a global travel hub.

Regionally, over two-thirds of the world's population is within eight hours flying time of the Middle East, and over 400 million passengers are expected to fly through regional airports by 2020.

"With this in mind, SITA is confident that the UAE will maintain and enhance within the global market over the years to come, including its leadership in implementing world class aviation innovations and technologies,” el-Assaad said.

He noted that the future will increasingly see automated land borders for trusted travellers, despite the challenges posed by implementing automated vehicle barriers and licence plate readers.

"When it comes to border automation in the UAE, we can't speak on behalf of the UAE Government. However, there is a clear global trend toward automation of the border crossings for passengers and travellers who are low risk and whose identity can be reliably confirmed using their biometric data.
Source: Khaleej Times