(Credit - Travel And Tour World)
What did GDRFA Dubai report for the first half of 2026?
The General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs Dubai (GDRFA) reported that 9,464,057 travellers used the digital border facilities at Dubai International Airport between January and June 2026.
| Channel | Travellers, January to June 2026 |
|---|---|
| Smart Gates | 9,024,736 |
| Red Carpet (Travel Without Borders) | 439,321 |
| Total | 9,464,057 |
The average processing time per passenger fell from 12.5 seconds to 3.4 seconds, a cut of about 73%, which GDRFA’s own release described as a 60% efficiency gain. The Red Carpet corridor can process up to 10 moving passengers at once.
What does this mean for travellers?
Most automated clearances run through Smart Gates, so checking whether you qualify is worth doing before a trip. The three fast lanes are compared in who can use each option, and the corridor is explained in how the Red Carpet AI corridor works.
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