Dubai Airports and the General Directorate of Residency and Foreign Affairs (GDRFA) are currently conducting trials on a new system designed to merge check-in procedures with immigration, as announced by Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths.
“Currently, GDRFA is working on integrating the check-in process with airlines, particularly Emirates and flydubai, along with the immigration process,” Griffiths stated.
He elaborated, “When we capture data at check-in, that data is automatically translated into the records necessary to facilitate a smooth departure. This allows us to eliminate the need for a separate immigration process, taking something out of that area.” When asked about the potential implementation at Dubai International Airport (DXB), Griffiths explained, “I know that operational trials are currently happening in the UAE, but as for implementation, we’ll need to see the results and address any issues before rolling it out at scale. Once we are ready, I can assure you that we’ll move quickly.”
Griffiths’ remarks about enhancing services at the world’s busiest airport follow the release of an economic impact report by Oxford Economics, detailing the aviation sector’s contribution to Dubai’s economy.
Smoother Security Procedures Ahead
Griffiths emphasized the need to improve airport flow, stating, “I think it’s important to recognise that an airport can be divided into flow and dwell. The flow side of the airport is very much about the arrivals and departures process. When you arrive at the airport, we want to eliminate as many processes as possible.”
Plans are also in place to enhance the security experience, making it “much smoother and less intrusive.” He remarked, “The current security process is pretty horrible, and it creates a poor service experience in many airports. The idea that travellers are subjected to a sort of military-style interrogation at airport security is something we need to move away from.”
Griffiths proposed a validation process for passengers off-site, enabling Dubai Airports to rely on a simple facial recognition match between the passenger and their travel and immigration records upon arrival. “This process can be completed in literally a couple of seconds. This would eliminate the need for check-in queues, and customers wouldn’t need to handle paperwork or tags for their bags. We want to reach a point where passengers can simply breeze through the departure process,” he added.
Future of Aviation in Dubai
The world’s busiest airport has raised its passenger forecast for the emirate’s primary hub to 93 million in 2024, up from the previous estimate of 91.8 million. To accommodate this growing demand, the Dubai government has approved plans for a new passenger terminal at Al Maktoum International Airport, also known as Dubai World Central (DWC), with an investment of Dh128 billion.
Griffiths noted that construction on the new terminal at DWC has not yet commenced, as the plans are currently in the detailed design phase. “At this point, there’s a lot of tweaks to be done before the design is finalised. We are in active talks with our Dubai Aviation Engineering Projects (DAEP) partners,” he stated.
While the expansion of DWC is not part of the report’s main impact results, the construction is expected to contribute approximately Dh6.1 billion to Dubai’s GDP by 2030, generating 132,000 jobs.
Job Creation in the Aviation Sector
The report indicated that the aviation sector is projected to create 185,000 new jobs over the next five years. According to Griffiths, this growth will result in both direct and indirect employment opportunities, with plans to hire many individuals for customer-facing roles to ensure a high-quality experience for passengers. “A lot of these jobs are driven by the volume created by the expansion of the aviation sector in the city. There are direct and indirect employment opportunities here,” he remarked.
Based on anticipated financial and passenger growth, the economic contribution of Dubai Airports and other aviation entities to Dubai’s economy is expected to reach Dh89 billion. Griffiths added that by 2027, Dubai Airports is projected to be very close to 100 million total passenger throughput. “Even though we’re investing heavily in AI and technology to boost efficiency—over the last 15 years, we’ve increased the customer throughput ratio to staff by sixfold—we’ve become a much more efficient organisation. Much of this has been enabled by our investments in technology,” he said.
Looking ahead, Griffiths emphasized the importance of maintaining a high standard of customer service. “Moving forward, however, what we cannot allow to degrade is the level of customer service. We’ll be employing many more people in customer-facing roles to ensure passengers receive a high-quality experience,” he stated.
He also noted that indirect employment opportunities in the hospitality industry would rise in tandem with the aviation sector. “As more aircraft are added, more pilots, cabin crew, and engineers will be needed. These roles will primarily be in skilled areas—pilots, cabin crew, engineers, and frontline customer service staff,” he explained.
Griffiths concluded by highlighting the expected growth in the hospitality sector, including hotels, attractions, and taxi services, to support Dubai’s dynamic, customer-centric tourism and hospitality industries.
