Dubai Airports CEO: Physical Passports Could Disappear in Five Years

Dubai Airports chief executive Paul Griffiths has predicted that traditional paper passports could disappear within five years, as biometric technology reshapes how people cross borders. In a recent LinkedIn post, he said that while many travellers enjoy collecting stamps, carrying a physical document is outdated from a technical point of view.

The emirate is already piloting some of these ideas. Dubai’s Click and Travel service allows immigration formalities to be handled on mobile devices before departure, and Emirates airline has expanded facial recognition so registered passengers no longer need to show documents repeatedly during their journey.

Removing the need to carry and present physical documents would make travel faster and simpler, especially for children, older passengers and those who find airports challenging. A single digital identity could also work for hotel check-ins or picking up a rental car, reducing paperwork throughout a trip.

But passport-free travel cannot be introduced by airports alone. Governments, airlines and law enforcement agencies would need to agree on common technical standards and systems that can recognise identities across international borders. Not every country is likely to move at the same pace.

Border controls and visa rules would still remain. The longer-term vision is that a person’s face could serve as their passport, making international journeys more seamless and potentially building greater trust between nations at a time when global cooperation is under pressure.