The Future of Borders International Conference, which commenced today, was formally opened by 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.

Organised by the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDFRA) Dubai, UAE, the summit will run till March 12 at the Ritz Carlton, DIFC.

In attendance were Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansoori, UAE Minister of Economy and chairman of the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA); Angela Gittens, director general of Airports Council International (ACI); Major General Mohammed Ahmed Al Marri, director general, General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs GDRFA-Dubai; and Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports, among other dignitaries.

The two-day knowledge-sharing platform has a stellar line-up of 24 speakers from 12 countries, including representatives of ACI, International Air Transport Association (Iata), Frontex and immigration authorities of the US, UK, Netherlands, Australia and Hong Kong.

“Border control agencies need to be well-prepared to deal with the emerging challenges as the number of passengers travelling across the international borders is set to rise exponentially in the coming years. Borders are strategic partners for airports. They should prepare themselves for more important and challenging role in the future. The Conference presents an excellent opportunity to discuss the challenges and opportunities arising in near future,” Sheikh Ahmed said.

Titled the Future and Vision of Government, the inaugural session was addressed by Gittens, Micheal Herrero, Gulf area manager at Iata, and Thani Alzaffin, director general and board member, emaratech, among others, with Leila Hareb, assistant director general of strategy and international affairs at GCAA, as the moderator.

In her presentation, Gittens highlighted the growth of the airports industry across the world and the future growth trends and challenges. She noted that the ACI has joined forces with Iata on a project -Smart Security - to work with governments to define the future of security screening and drive the needed change.

 “The objective is to improve the journey from curb to boarding, where passengers proceed through security checkpoints with minimal inconvenience, where security resources are allocated based on risk and where airport facilities can be optimised,” she said.

GCAA official Hareb said the Ministry of Interior, Dubai Customs, GDRFA-Dubai and Dubai Police were among the organisations that benefitted immensely from the Advance Passenger Information (API) project launched late last year, which plays a major role in maintaining the security of UAE’s borders by accessing and assessing information of arriving, departing and transiting passengers by air, sea and land ports.

GDRFA-Dubai is implementing the Advanced Passenger Information System (APIS) at the Dubai International Airport this year with the First and Business class passengers of Emirates covered in the first phase followed by Economy class passengers in the second. GDRFA-Dubai will also implement the APIS for cruise tourists as Dubai has been recording impressive growth in cruise tourism.

“The UAE has the most sophisticated API system in the world with enhanced security, monitoring, tracking and interception of transit passengers,” Hareb said. – TradeArabia News Service