The first airport where you won't need any documents

Abu Dhabi Airport in the United Arab Emirates is launching a Smart Travel Project that will see biometric sensors and cameras placed at every location in the airport where passengers were previously required to show ID.

As a result, at check-in desks or boarding gates, instead of showing documents, the traveler's identity and travel status will be verified using facial or iris recognition technology. Therefore, it will not be necessary to have any documents with you to board the plane.

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CNN explains that this technology is already being used in some parts of the airport, especially for Etihad Airways, which uses Abu Dhabi as its main hub. Similar solutions are also being used locally at other airports. However, the station emphasizes that the ambitious plan to extend the technology to the entire airport is groundbreaking.

– (The system) is designed in such a way that there is no need to register in advance. Passengers are automatically recognized and authenticated as they move through the airport, which significantly speeds up the whole process – emphasized Andrew Murphy, chief information officer at Abu Dhabi Airport.

He noted that biometric data is collected from anyone arriving for the first time in the UAE by the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security (ICP). The airport system is supposed to use this database to verify passengers.

Murphy said the project aims to speed up passenger flow. “The ability to move through an airport of this size in just a few minutes is truly groundbreaking,” he said. Only parents of children under 12 will still be required to show their documents because of the rapidly changing facial features of childhood.

Facial recognition technology is also gradually being implemented by airports, including: SingaporeHong Kong, Tokyo and Delhi.

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