Iris scanner glitch at Sharjah airport

SHARJAH — Hundreds of passengers were stranded for almost 10 hours at the Sharjah International Airport on Sunday because of a technical glitch in the iris scan system.

“The problem is only limited to new visitors coming to the country on a visit visa,” a senior official told Khaleej Times on condition of anonymity.

Long queues of passengers were seen from midnight and crowds were seen waiting for long hours outside the arrival area.

“I come to the airport to pick customers on a regular basis, but today has been a big mess,” said Sherhan, a public relation officer with the RAK Hilton. “Kosala, a guest, was supposed to arrive at 7.20am, but came out at three in the afternoon due to eye scan system breakdown.”

The passenger, Kosala, who arrived from Sri Lanka on an Air Arabia flight, said 900 to 1,000 passengers were stuck inside the airport since Saturday night, around 11pm, because of the iris scan problem.

“The passengers inside were very furious; it is not acceptable at all to wait for so long. There must be alternatives, as hundreds more are waiting outside as well.”

Ali, from India, said he was waiting for around five hours. “My friend arrived at the airport five hours ago, yet he is still in. No official said a word about the long delay. It is only two hours back that we came to know about the iris scan malfunction; we should have been put in the picture instead of just waiting and waiting.”

Abu Ahmed, an Egyptian said, my daughter is inside. She is alone there for six hours now. “Is iris scan that important? Why do they not fix the snag quickly or find a way out? How can a young girl be kept inside for that long? I am really upset.”

Mohammed, a Sudanese, was also very upset about the delay. “I have been waiting for my family with young children for seven hours now. How can they keep a large number of passengers, including women and children for that long time?”

“I have another problem. I now need to pay more for the parking ticket; Dh80 for the eight hours delay instead of just Dh10; this is very ridiculous. The parking should be free; it is not our problem.”

Zia-ul-Haq, a Pakistani PR executive, said he encountered such technical failure with the iris scan earlier when he had come to pick up a passenger. “But it was only for maximum one hour, not for 10 hours. There should be a backup for blacklist people to ensure smooth and timely entry procedures.”

Calling for more iris scan devices, Hamid, a Pakistani passenger, attributed the breakdown to a large number of visitors. “The two operating iris scan machines are not enough for such a large number of passengers. The malfunction will most likely happen again; there must be more scanning devices and counters to expedite procedures and avoid glitches.”

• World
• UAE