How Dubai passport control officers coped with COVID-19

Ali Al Shouk | Senior Reporter

A warm smile greets travellers at passport control in Dubai International airport. All officers there understand the value of a warm welcome. It creates a good first impression of the people and the country. It also sets the tone for visits to the country. So a smile is a highly valued gesture at Dubai Airport.

When the UAE ushered in COVID-19 safety protocols, the smile was a casualty. The smile was there, but its warmth remained hidden behind the facemasks.

Lt Ahmad Mohammad Yateem, an officer at Dubai’s General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs, was on night shift when masks were first distributed at the airport. It was in March 2020. Till then, Ahmad had only heard of the coronavirus that was spreading across the world. Masks were a vital tool in the fight against the pandemic.

Travel connects the world. So it was only natural that GDRFA became the first department in the airport to start using masks long before safety protocols were implemented across the country.

“GDRFA-Dubai created a team to work in shifts to serve travellers. We drew up a plan to ensure the smooth movement of travellers at the airport despite the pandemic. The usage of masks, gloves and sanitisers were implemented for passport control officers right from the early stage,” Yateem said in an exclusive interview with Gulf News.

That was essential since these officers are on the frontline, meeting millions of people from around the world. When they are stamping passports, the officers have no idea whether the travellers are infected or not.

“My biggest fear was being in contact with an infected traveller. It was an unknown disease at the beginning, and later we only knew it as a respiratory disease that has no cure,” Yateem added.

Despite RT-PCR tests for employees and the absence of infection among GDRFA staff, Yateem feared for his family, parents and two children. “I was afraid of being infected and passing the virus to my family,” he said.

“Despite the fear, serving our country was more important to us. It was important to continue the work normally.”

Yateem and other officers wore masks and gloves all the time and used hand sanitisers. “Later, the department placed barriers between travellers and us. We were also advised not to go close to travellers,” he said.

The enhanced safety standards at the airport and other facilities helped Dubai bounce back in a year when much of the world suffered. It was a year when global travel was disrupted, and airlines worldwide were forced to ground their fleets.

The coronavirus’ fallout affected Dubai passenger traffic too, as 2020 marked the end of a decade of consistent growth. Having reported passenger traffic of 86.4 million in 2019, Dubai was expected to get back on its feet quicker than most countries. And it did. More than 17 million passengers passed through Dubai in 2020, while airports around the world reopened gradually.

This was confirmed by Major General Mohammed Ahmed Al Marri, Director General of GDRFA Dubai. He said there had been a significant increase in the number of travellers at Dubai airports since flights resumed last July, attributing it to the high confidence in the COVID-19 safety measures in the UAE.

Besides the safety protocols, the increased use of contactless technology at the Dubai airports has become a boon in the time of COVID-19. According to Airports Council International’s world traffic report, Dubai International Airport is also a leader in using artificial intelligence (AI).

A new fast-track passport control service that uses face and iris-recognition technologies eliminates the need for any human interaction when entering or leaving the country. The new biometric system has been deployed at 122 smart gates at arrival and departure terminals to enable passengers complete passport control procedures. This allows for a contactless passenger experience.

Most of the arrivals were holidaymakers who drove the occupancy rate of hotels in Dubai. There were others who opted to come to Dubai and work for their offices abroad. They said the UAE was the closest place in terms of normalcy at the time of the pandemic.

“Despite the pandemic, we received passengers with a smile to make sure that Dubai is welcoming them back. The UAE safety protocols were comforting for them as they felt the country is normal despite all challenges. Dubai will remain strong against all crises and hard times as we can turn them into achievements,” said Yateem.

The smile is back on Dubai. Never mind the masks.