In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, an increasing number of airports globally are using contactless technology to enhance passengers' experience. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the deployment pace of biometric authentication at airports across the world.

Notably, contactless technology will be a key attraction at the 20th edition of the Airport Show to be held in Dubai from May 24-26, 2021.

The world’s largest B2B airport show is held in Dubai every year under the patronage of Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority (DCAA), Chairman of Dubai Airports and Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline and Group.

This year, the show will take place at the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) spread across 12,000 square meters. Around 90 countries are expected to participate in the show as normalcy gradually returns to the world after the pandemic.

There will be three co-located events as part of the show: Global Airport Leaders Forum (GALF), ATC Forum and Airport Security. Furthermore, there will be two new conferences focusing on enhancing passengers’ experience and digital transformation of the airport.

This year's airport show is being organised by Reed Exhibitions Middle East. Speaking about the show, Daniyal Qureshi, Group Exhibitions Director at Reed Exhibitions Middle East, underlined that contactless passenger experience in airports has significantly increased in the aftermath of the pandemic. Qureshi added that a number of airports, including Dubai International, are leading the initiative in providing the best travel experience to passengers, particularly amid the prevailing circumstances.

The latest contactless innovations and airport digital transformations are going to be the focus at this year's airport show in Dubai.

Reportedly, investment is expected to increase in biometrics as around 64 percent of airports globally are working on rolling out self-boarding gates using biometric and ID documentation by the year 2023. As per a 2020 report by SITA on Air Transport IT Insights, contactless technologies have emerged as a game-changer with airports increasingly prioritising touchless technology in their investment between now and 2023.

Evidently, touchless technology will help in curtailing the spread of COVID-19 by limiting communication between passengers and staff through contactless security processes, check-in, food and beverage pre-ordering and in-flight entertainment.

The world's largest international airline, Emirates, launched facial recognition checkpoints to facilitate a touchless experience for passengers through Dubai International. At the DXB, the carrier integrated a "biometric path" into its facilities to provide a contactless experience to passengers during their travel through its terminals.

This technology is aimed at enhancing the traveller flow through the airport by reducing the need for manual document checks. It is using a blend of both facial and iris recognition technology to create a highly hygienic and contactless path for passengers to transit through the airport. It will further help in restricting human interaction throughout the process.

For the seventh consecutive year, Dubai airport has emerged as the number one airport in the world for international passengers. It is leading the world in terms of airport safety and security with increased use of touchless technology to provide the best experience to passengers.

Touchless technology encourages passengers to use their eyes through the biometric method to confirm their identity without requiring manual display of any documents. Using the biometric method helps in curbing the spread of the COVID-19 virus as it curtails the contact between airport passengers and staff. The state-of-the-art system takes only five to six seconds to complete the entire scanning process.

With a rise in COVID-19 cases, airport operators are facing new challenges in terms of limiting personal contact, reducing crowds, minimising public access to common surfaces, and protecting terminals from turning into potential virus breeding grounds.

As per a recent research study, the global smart airport market size is projected to increase to approximately USD 26 billion by the year 2025. At the same time, the global airport services market size is expected to reach USD 232.88 billion by 2027.

Currently, about 97 percent of airlines are operating through mobile apps, noting that all essential customer services have become contactless in recent times. Around 58 percent of airlines have prioritised automated biometric boarding gates and about 64 percent of airports have considered biometric systems for both border checks and flight boarding protocols.

WAM