(MENAFN- Khaleej Times)

Dubai Airports is working on a 'red carpet' experience for passengers travelling through Al Maktoum International Airport, where they will not have to take out their passports, no check-in desks, and no queues, a senior official said on Tuesday.

"We have an advantage in having two airport systems at the Dubai Airports. We can look at the proof of concept of new ideas and new technologies to make sure that we can scale them up for the new airport. One of them is the red carpet. It's an initiative where our passengers walk through immigration without a need to remove their passports through their wallets. The complexity of that process is completely invisible for the passenger,” said Ismail Polat, senior vice president for development at Dubai Airports.

Recommended For You IATF 2025 opens in Dubai, marking 20 years as the Gulf's leading fashion sourcing fair How Dubai played a role in Russian teenager's rise in tennis

Dubai Airports rolled out a 'Red Carpet' smart corridor at Dubai International (DXB, which allowed visitors to clear immigration in just six seconds, even during the peak season, without counters, document checks, or passport scans. Instead, passengers walk down a red carpet as discreet sensors scan their faces.

Stay up to date with the latest news. Follow KT on WhatsApp Channels.

"This is where we want to reach with our consumers. Behind that system, there are seven agencies that are being connected there, so they capture the passengers' information and make sure that every safe and secure element has been checked and confirmed, so that it's a seamless journey for the passengers," he said during a panel discussion on the second day of the Dubai Airshow 2025.

All operations at Dubai International (DXB) will be transferred to Al Maktoum International (DWC) in the early 2030s. The new Dh128-billion passenger terminal will scale up passenger capacity to 260 million annually and“fully absorb” DXB's operations.

“We want to bring that idea of two frictionless, no-queue, no-waiting elements to the new airport. But this requires AI and extreme collaboration, not just within the airport, but also with the government entities around the airport to be able to achieve that. Today, we have about 50 different systems integrated throughout the airport.”

He noted that current predictive AI systems can tell, in real time, which passengers are likely to be in around 50-minute windows and proactively help them in advance.“We want to increase the predictability factor. We have a lot of smart people in our teams, but they are tasked with mundane elements during the day. So we want to free their time so we can really provide the best for our passengers.”

Ismail Polat emphasised that Dubai's new airport will handle 260 million passengers upon its completion, but it is also about individual experience.

“We're planning for 260 million passengers, but still, it is a very individual experience for that person, whatever form of multimodal transportation happens there. Instead of being processed, it's curated for the passenger cell. We're talking about not a check-in desk, but if a passenger wants a check-in desk, maybe we should figure out a way to build it. So, it should be curated to the passenger's needs, not the way that we dictate the process,” he concluded.

MENAFN18112025000049011007ID1110359503