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Dubai Airport Adopts Contactless Smart Card Technology

The solution, only found in two other airports worldwide, introduces the use of smart card technology at new electronic gates (eGates) in the airport, designed to reduce delays and enable registered passengers automated entry or exit through the airport.  Over 25 Zebra Card Printers are now being used at the airport to produce the contactless smart cards needed to accelerate immigration procedures and enable passengers to merely swipe their cards and have a three second fingerprint scan and then they are free to move quickly through the airport.With air travel on the increase in the Middle East and a heightened need for security at all airports, Dubai Naturalization and Residency Department (DNRD) acknowledged the need to introduce electronic gates to speed up access through Dubai International Airport.“We feel immensely proud to have won this impressive contract for theM at Dubai International Airport's electronic gates.  It reinforces Eastnets image as a reputed player in the fields of the plastic card industry and issuing systems,” said Hazem Mulhim, CEO, Eastnets.Dubai Naturalization and Residency Department recognized the need to offer a completely automated solution to enable quick access to passengers at Dubai International Airport. With a requirement from the IT department to use only leading edge technology for the project they chose Eastnets who, as a reseller for Zebra Card Printer Solutions, was able to fully meet their needs in providing a complete end-to-end solution, with full integration and a straight through processing application.  The resulting solution introduces a card management and issuing solution, Bitaqae®, which controls the data entry, enrollment, issuance system, personalization, and RFID encoding capabilities and produces contactless smart cards using Zebra printers with Mifare smart chip cards.Eastnets launched the project in 2002 with just three issuing stations at the departure terminal and its success has meant that a further dozen issuing stations have now been introduced across different locations in Dubai including the Arrival Terminal, the municipality, DNATA and Jebel Ali Free Zone.  Over 100,000 cards have been created to date using over 25 Zebra printers to produce the contactless smart cards on Mifare cards with lamination that includes ultra violet and micro-printing security features."The e-Gate project is the result of over 10 months of concerted efforts by the staff in our IT department and has been devised using cutting edge technologies that ensure accuracy and speed,”  said Lieutenant Colonel Khalid Majid Lootah, Head of IT Section, DNRD.  “Since the entire plan had been conceptualized in-house, we did not have to outsource much of the components.  However, the Card Management System (IDM) was one of the critical components requiring specialized expertise.  Hence, we decided to assign the contract to Eastern Networks (Eastnets) because of its proven abilities in this field.  We are pleased with their professional approach which has led to the successful implementation of this project, the first of its kind in the Middle East." The e-gate card is now being issued to UAE residents, Gulf Cooperative Country residents and 35 other countries across the globe and with 100,000 card holders to date is continuing to experience a strong rate of adoption.  The use of leading technology including contactless access control and biometricentification has enabled a 'fast-track' movement of passengers through the arrivals and departures area at Dubai International Airport.About Zebra Card Printer SolutionsA world leader in desktop card printers, Zebra Card Printer Solutions is a division of Zebra Technologies Corporation, which delivers innovative and reliable on-demand printing solutions for business improvement and security applications in 100 countries around the world.  More than 90 percent of Fortune 500 companies use Zebra® -brand printers.  A broad range of applications benefit from Zebra-brand thermal barcode, “smart” label and receipt printers and plastic card printers (formerly branded Eltron®), resulting in enhanced security, increased productivity, improved quality, lower costs and better customer service.  Zebra Technologies has sold more than five million printers, including RFID printer/encoders and wireless mobile solutions, as well as software, connectivity solutions, and printing supplies.  Information about Zebra card printers can be found at www.zebracard.com. Information about Zebra Technologies can be found at www.zebra.com .  Contact Information:Zebra Technologies CorporationCard Printer Solutions Zebra Card Printer Solutions 1001 Flynn RoadCamarillo, CA  93012-8706Phone: (805) 579-1800Website: http://www.zebracard.com/