Dubai Mood :: Travel News :: National IDs to Replace E-gate Cards

For More Information's & Details 0844 448 1460
Email Sales Enquiry

National IDs to Replace E-gate Cards

DUBAI - Airport e-gate cards will be replaced by national identity cards when they are fully available, an immigration official has said.

The e-gate cards speed up check-in at the UAE airports, freeing passengers from queues at immigration counters.

Passengers instead swipe their smartcards through specialised e-gates. First introduced in 2002, there are over 100 such gates across the three terminals at Dubai International Airport.

Khalid Alrazooqi, Assistant Director of IT services at the Dubai Naturalisation and Residency Department (DNRD), said eventually all e-gate cards will be replaced by national ID cards.

“We are working very closely with the Emirates Identity Authority (EIDA) to do this,” he said. “The cards that have already been issued already have this function. Once everyone has an ID card, we will no longer use smartcards.”

He said that so far no date has been set. National ID cards will carry biometric data such as fingerprint and face scans, passport and visa details.

Thamer Al Qasemi, planning director at EIDA, told Khaleej Times that till now 800,000 national identity cards have been issued. They can’t yet be used in place of e-gate cards, he said, but added that the Ministry of Interior would later announce the procedure for its activation for general use.

“From technological point of view, it’s all ready to use. However, details about how the cards can be activated will be announced hopefully this month.”

At present, e-gate smartcards are most useful to frequent fliers, particularly businessmen, who have to regularly pass through customs.

The official could not provide details on the number of e-gates being used at the moment.

However, it is thought that traffic through the e-gates will get a boot by effectively giving everyone access to a smartcard though their ID cards.

Al Razooqi declined to comment on whether there would be more e-gates to cope with the rise in number of users.

On Thursday, Razooqi led a delegation of 120 representatives from governments around the world to talk through the security facilities at the airport, including brand new face-recognition technology to complement its iris scanning facilities.

Officials hope that the ID cards will become a ‘e-passport’ prototype.

Holiday Mood Limited
66 Park Way
Ruislip Middlesex HA48NR
Tel: 0844 448 1460 Fax: 01895 674242
E-mail: sales@holidaymood.co.uk

Partner Sites: www.holidaymood.co.uk www.ozzymood.co.uk www.africanmood.co.uk www.dubaimood.co.uk www.flightsmood.co.uk www.jumeirahbeachdubai.co.uk

The flight bookings we make are ATOL protected by the Civil Aviation Authority, except when tickets for scheduled flights are sent to your within 24 hours of payment being accepted. Our ATOL number is 5934. We also act as agents for other ATOL holders. ATOL protection extends primarily to customers who book and pay in the United Kingdom