ALKHOBAR, 27 May 2003 — Dubai, Dubai, we are always hearing about the wonders of Dubai. But even in Dubai, sometimes in regards to IT they don’t get it right the first time. A couple of weeks ago I was at Dubai International Airport and I saw big signs promoting something called E-Gate. I asked a UAE immigration officer to explain. He told me that through the E-Gate program a person is issued with a smart card, which allows them to move through automated turnstiles at Dubai International Airport. They no longer have to stand in line to have passport details scrutinized manually.
All required traveler information is entered just once into the E-Gate system when the card is issued. The information logged into the system includes a scan of the traveler’s index fingerprints. When arriving or leaving Dubai International Airport, a traveler holding an E-Gate card simply goes to an automated turnstile at immigration, and inserts the card. The first turnstile barrier is released and the traveler steps through it.
At this point the person presses an index finger against a scanner. If the system recognizes and matches both the card and the fingerprint, the second barrier at the automated gate is released and the traveler is free to pass through to the other side — either baggage collection or boarding gates.
E-Gate sounded like it would make my life easier on future trips to Dubai so I decided to sign up. The immigration officer assured me that the whole sign-up process would require just five minutes. It sounded too good to be true…and it was. To sign up for E-Gate I had to turn back from immigration, exit the airport check-in hall and go upstairs to an office on the second floor of the terminal. That took 10 minutes. At the E-Gate office the friendly all-female staff were pleased to see me. They entered all my personal travel information into the E-Gate system. Next, they digitized my photo and scanned the fingerprints on both index fingers. And then, smiling, they told me that they couldn’t issue me with an E-Gate card.
I panicked momentarily. Frantically, I searched my mind for any recollection of criminal activity that might disqualify me for E-Gate. The supervisor approached with my passport. She then explained that they couldn’t issue the smart card because the E-Gate application was defective. Well, that wasn’t exactly what she said, but that’s the gist of her explanation.
You see, Saudi passports consist of a number and a letter. In a system programming glitch, E-Gate wouldn’t recognize the letters. Once any passport number and nationality was entered into the E-Gate system, the program would reject the entering of another passport with the same number and nationality. In my case, a Saudi national with a passport number the same as mine had already registered in E-Gate. It didn’t matter that our passport serial numbers were different because his started with one letter and mine with another. I was rejected for E-Gate registration. The smiling E-Gate supervisor told me that they would keep my information on file and that as soon as their system was upgraded, in about one month, I could return to collect the E-Gate card. She gave me a receipt and told me stop by on my next visit to Dubai. Thirty minutes after starting the whole messy business, I found myself clearing security once more in order to go back and stand in line at Dubai International Airport immigration.
Clearing security at airports is getting really ugly for someone like me who’s well wired. My carry-on bag now contains two mobile phones, a PDA, digital camera, recorder, laptop and all the chargers, plugs, batteries and cables needed to make everything work. Airport security officers take one look through their viewfinders at my electronic collection and call for backup.
Ordered to submit to inspection, I open my bag and stand by for instructions. I pray that I have not run the battery down too low in any device and that all will function if need be. At Dubai’s airport the inspectors are well trained in recognizing the various pieces of equipment, but in other places I am not nearly so lucky. One late night I found myself at an airport security station doing a tech demo for a fascinated group of officers. “Just plug this cable in here, put this battery in there, slide this card in that slot and push down on that button. Wait a few seconds and here it comes. Now press this button, drag that icon, click twice and see — techno magic — the picture appears on the screen.” Then pack it all up again and run down the corridor to the boarding gate.
Don’t get me wrong. I am not complaining about increased airport security. Please don’t send me any nasty mail on the subject. What I am saying is that security inspectors need to be better trained and less judgmental. I hate it when airport inspectors ask me if I really need to carry all this stuff. Yes, I do need this stuff if I want to do my job and remain gainfully employed. It bothers me when security personnel act inconvenienced by having to look at my gear. Hey, we’re all inconvenienced and I’m not the one getting paid to inspect these bags. I have a right to be miffed when security staff aggressively handle equipment that costs several thousand riyals per piece. For goodness sakes inspector, do not casually press buttons, flip switches or put your finger inside a compartment — the results can be catastrophic.
One of the worst moments in my life occurred about a year ago at airport security in Jeddah. Instead of clearing my carry- on bag, I was told that airport security was at a high level and so no portable computers were being allowed onboard aircraft.
I nearly had a heart attack. The chances of my laptop surviving the treatment it would receive as checked baggage were slim. Even worse, the airline was demanding that I sign a waiver so that they would not be responsible if the machine were damaged. I demanded to see a supervisor and a heated argument ensued. Eventually I was allowed to take my computer, minus its battery, onboard the plane, hand carried. My laptop case went as checked baggage.
I was lucky that day. After the incident I was determined to ensure that in a similar situation, if I had to check the laptop, it would survive. I purchased a high-quality hard shell trolley bag and a thickly insulated laptop case, plus a sturdy camera case. All my essential equipment fits together, protected by the cases, tightly inside the trolley bag.
A few weeks ago, on that flight from Dubai, the day I’d been hoping would never come suddenly arrived. Saudi Arabian Airlines flies a very small plane, the MD-90 between Dubai and Dammam. Despite regulations to the contrary, many passengers come onboard the flight loaded down with plenty of carry-on luggage. Thanks to the debacle with E-Gate, I was late getting to the flight. Even though I came onboard with only one bag, all the overhead bins were full. There was no choice but to have my bag sent down to the hold. I wasn’t happy but I was prepared and hoped for the best.
When I picked up my luggage in Dammam, I detoured to a secluded corner at the airport and dug the laptop out of the trolley case. A few anxious seconds later, the operating system was loading just fine.
I have recently been reading many articles about how people feel that technology is actually making life more stressful. That may be the case for many professions but not in journalism. I would not want to go back to the days before the Internet when we had to send articles to the home office by fax. I couldn’t imagine trying to function out in the field without a portable computer and a mobile telephone. As for the digital camera, it is taken for granted that we can shoot pictures in the evening, download them to the newsroom and see them in print early in the morning. Yes, packing it, lugging it and searching for electricity to charge it is less than amusing, but not having all that wondrous equipment would be even worse.
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