ACU June 5th DRAFT

COVER STORY
The old Ataturk airport, which in 2016
was hit by a terror bomb attack, will
cease to operate when the new old
located about 22 miles from the city
center is opened.
Technology and immigration
With the use of technology, Dubai
International (DXB), which last year
handled more than 88 million
passengers, managed to reduce
immigration process within 6
s e c o n d s t h r o u g h t h e u s e
sophisticated equipment and data
intelligence.
Thani Al Zaffin, director general and
board member of Emaratech who was
among the panelists at the Global
Airport Leaders Forum “Airport
Collaborative Decision Making (A-
CDM), emphasized technology is not
only hastening the process but also
making passengers happy.
Technology is also being used in the
simplest of things at airports for
convenience and seamless flow of
activities while dealing with tens of
thousands on a daily basis.
Airports Council
International said airports
generate about 40 percent
of its income from nonaeronautical
revenue
sources such as car parking,
land rents, terminal
concession and advertising.
In 2016, this totaled to
US$152 billion. PS Nair,
Chief Executive Officer of
GMR Group, said knowing
how to serve well your
customers made a
difference.
“When we took over Delhi's Indira
Gandhi International Airport the
commercial revenue was negligible.
Today, the same airport is ranked
number 1 in the world in service
quality,” the CEO of GMR Group which
operates Rajiv Gandhi International
Airport, Hyderabad and Mactan Cebu
I n t e r n a t i o n a l A i r p o r t i n t h e
Philippines said.
By 2030, Smart Gates at Dubai
airports will officially be adopted to
reduce human involvement in
processing travelers for immigration
purposes, Major General Mohammed
Ahmed Al Marri, Director General,
General Directorate of Residency and
Foreigners Affairs – Dubai (GDRFA-
D), emphasized at the recently held
A i r p o r t S e c u r i t y M i d d l e E a s t
Conference.
Col. Hamooda Belsuwaida Alameri,
A s s i s t a n t D i r e c t o r G e n e r a l
Operations at General Department of
Airport Security, Dubai Police,
meanwhile noted, technologies have
been put into strategies to make
Dubai airports safer and secure for
everyone.
“Dubai police has plans to coordinate
its human resources and capabilities
to ensure security at airports. The
airport security challenges are land
side security, cyber security and
security check points. Airports, the
police and the security agencies need
to collaborate and exchange
information as well as to do risk
assessments to ensure security on all
fronts," A Al Marri added: “We are
constantly evolving with the advent
of modern technology and artificial
intelligence tools. This may be one of
the factors facing some sectors,
re q u i r i n g t h e d e p l o y m e n t of
innovative and intelligent solutions
b y g o v e r n m e n t e n t i t i e s a n d
contribution to promoting Dubai's
global leadership.”