Emirates Airline in collaboration with the General Directorate of Residency and Foreign Affairs in Dubai (GDFRA) now offers international travellers the opportunity to speed up airport processes by consenting to the use of biometric data.

The feature was previously only available for UAE residents and GCC nationals, the service will now be available for international passengers in 2023.

The agreement was signed in the presence of several senior officials, by Lieutenant General Mohamed Al Marri, Director General of GDFRA and Adel Al Redha, Emirates’ Chief Operating Officer.

The agreement is the first of its kind in the world, the agreement seeks to improve the innovative and digitally focused travel experience for Dubai visitors. It also improves passenger traffic procedures at Dubai International Airport Terminal 3 and ensures a faster and efficient airport experience for travellers on connecting flights and Dubai bound flights.

“Emirates continually invests to improve customer experience and we thank the GDFRA for extending the bridges of cooperation, communication and coordination to add value to Emirates’ services and allow our international passengers to Fly Better,” said Adel Al Redha.

The official announcement stated that by using biometric recognition technology, travellers will be able to breeze through the Dubai International Airport Terminal 3 check-in, lounges, boarding and immigration as the AI systems recognise unique facial features and link to their passport for instant identity verification.