There are plans to double the number of e-gates at Hamad International Airport (HIA) to cater to the growing demand from passengers, a senior Ministry of Interior (MoI) official has said.

In a statement, the Airport Passports Department at the MoI also announced that some 865,000 passengers used the e-gates at HIA in the first quarter of this year and the number was expected to reach 3.5mn by the end of 2017.

Besides, around 1.04mn passengers were registered for the e-gate system during 2016, the statement informed.

The ministry has stressed that the user figures highlight the success of the e-gate service in attracting a large number of passengers due to the ease of use and short time taken to complete travel procedures, which does not exceed 10 seconds.

Colonel Mohamed Rashid al-Mazrouei, director of the Airport Passports Department, said the airport currently has 21 e-gates in the departure section and 20 in arrival and the numbers will be increased to 40 e-gates in each section due to the “high demand from passengers”.

He said the e-gate service for citizens and residents is free of charge, making it “one of the most important stages of development in terms of the services provided by the MoI at the Airport to save the time and effort of passengers and help them avoid long queues while waiting in front of airport immigration counters”.

All approaches leading to the e-gates have guidance boards and staff from Airport Security, Airport Passports and HIA to assist passengers round the clock. Further, all e-gates are placed parallel to the passport control counters and easily visible to passengers, it was observed.

As the number of passengers using the e-gate service increases, the official pointed out that the Airport Passports Department has set up a counter near the e-gates to facilitate procedures for people who are not familiar with the use of electronic gates.

Explaining how to use the e-gates, he said a passenger can approach a gate and then provide the travel document, whether the ID card or passport. The e-gate will give instructions to the passenger in accordance with the language of the submitted ID or passport to facilitate the procedures.

By placing the travel document on the e-gate, the first gate will be opened, allowing the traveller to pass through the middle of the portal. Then, the passenger will be asked to place the fingerprint or have an iris scan to verify his/her identity and open the last barrier. This process does not take more than 10 seconds whether for entry or exit.

Colonel al-Mazrouei said the department has opened an office next to the e-gates to activate and add the e-gate service by using the ID cards of residents and their children aged above 18 years. He stressed that the use of ID cards for e-gates does not require prior registration or payment of any fees.

The service comes within the framework of the smart traveller project launched by HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior at the beginning of this year, which enables a passenger to finish his/her travel procedures through smart self-service devices without the need to approach any staff member.

While noting that the electronic gates conform to all required security standards and are characterised by quick processing times, he said the e-gate system at HIA has been praised by a delegation of the International Civil Aviation Organisation as a model system that can be applied in countries around the world. The official also called upon more people to use the e-gate system at HIA and benefit from it.

Achieving 3.5mn users by the end of the year will mark a “great success for the MoI”, the statement adds.