Hamad International Airport (HIA) has always placed passenger safety among its top priorities.
Earlier, when the COVID-19 pandemic had just started, the airport implemented a series of safety measures to limit the spread of the infection.
With the use of cutting-edge technology, such as disinfectant robots and thermal imaging helmets, HIA strived to optimize the safety of its staff and passengers.
Now, as Qatar has flattened the COVID-19 curve, but continues its fight against the pandemic, HIA has introduced another feature to enhance the safety of everyone who sets foot at the facility.
According to a press release by HIA, it has now installed vending machines containing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) across key passenger touchpoints throughout the terminal.
The newly introduced vending machines allow arriving, departing, and transferring passengers to easily access various disposable and reusable PPE equipment, such as face masks, disposable gloves, hand sanitizers, disinfecting wipes.
The machines also offer commonly purchased over-the-counter pharmacy items such as vitamins and personal care products.
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PPE and last-minute travel essentials are available at retail stores located across the terminal.
HIA is also one of the first airports to implement a unique facial recognition enabled technology, which offers passengers a contactless and safe journey.
HIA introduced this paperless airport experience by combining passenger’s flight, passport, and facial biometric information in a ‘single travel token’ at the self-check-in kiosk.
Passengers can now use biometric-enabled check-in kiosks to take their photo and scan their passport and boarding pass.
This digital identity record makes the passenger’s face their pass at key airport touchpoints, such as self-service bag-drop, pre-immigration, and self-boarding gates.
