DUBAI // In the not too distant future, passengers at Dubai International Airport will be able to clear immigration in seconds, the General Directorate of Residency and Foreign Affairs said.
Maj Gen Obaid bin Suroor said such developments were needed to keep up with the growing number of travellers, which rose from 12 million in 2000 to 70.4 million last year.
The number of entry and exit passengers increased from 5.9 million in 2000 to 40.4 million last year. To accommodate this, the number of passport control counters rose from 67 to 264, and e-gates increased from three in 2003 to 120 this year. More employees were hired, up from 400 in 2000, to 1,711.
“In spite of this development, we still find frequent pictures of overcrowded queues, especially during rush hour,” said Maj Gen bin Suroor. “We have to think about other solutions in the future.”
He said during the next 10 years, advances will be made to allow passengers to go through border control counters in 30 seconds and e-gates within 16 seconds, although these will eventually be phased out to give way to a one-second immigration procedure.
“This is our vision in Dubai airport in the next 10 years,” said Maj Gen bin Suroor. “We won’t have e-gates, just gates for passengers, and they won’t be stopped, they will just pass through.”
He said this would require more efficiency and speed in gathering information.
“We should have an internal and external information network, and exchange this information with our partners in the private and public sectors quickly,” he said.
“We should have high quality training and we are using a system of crowd metrics, which includes emotional response and focus metrics to lead us to reach all passengers and their needs.”
cmalek@thenational.ae
Champions League Last 16
Red Bull Salzburg (AUT) v Bayern Munich (GER)
Sporting Lisbon (POR) v Manchester City (ENG)
Benfica (POR) v Ajax (NED)
Chelsea (ENG) v Lille (FRA)
Atletico Madrid (ESP) v Manchester United (ENG)
Villarreal (ESP) v Juventus (ITA)
Inter Milan (ITA) v Liverpool (ENG)
Paris Saint-Germain v Real Madrid (ESP)
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
In numbers
1,000 tonnes of waste collected daily:
- 800 tonnes converted into alternative fuel
- 150 tonnes to landfill
- 50 tonnes sold as scrap metal
800 tonnes of RDF replaces 500 tonnes of coal
Two conveyor lines treat more than 350,000 tonnes of waste per year
25 staff on site