Abu Dhabi Airports has signed an agreement with the UAE’s Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs & Port Security (ICP) to improve passenger processing and border control services across the emirate’s five airports.
The partnership introduces a ‘Smart Travel’ system designed to significantly reduce processing times for travellers. The initiative uses biometric verification and smart gates, allowing passengers to clear immigration procedures in as little as seven seconds.
This system is part of Abu Dhabi Airports’ wider objective to achieve a “gate-to-kerb” experience of under 12 minutes, enabling arriving passengers to exit the terminal quickly. The agreement aims to help the airports manage increasing passenger numbers, which exceeded 29 million in 2024, and to scale operations efficiently to meet future demand from a global traveller base.
The airports set to benefit from the initiative are:
* Zayed International Airport
* Al Ain International Airport
* Al Bateen Executive Airport
* Delma Island Airport
* Sir Bani Yas Island Airport
The agreement was finalised at a signing ceremony at Zayed International Airport on 6 October 2025. Elena Sorlini, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Abu Dhabi Airports, and Mohammed Ahmed Abdullah Al Kuwaiti, Acting Director General of Ports at ICP, formalised the partnership.
