Emirati and Bahraini authorities have quietly started a pilot that lets citizens of both countries clear immigration at their *departure* airport, eliminating passport control on arrival. The scheme – branded “One-Point Air Travellers” – connects Zayed International in Abu Dhabi with Bahrain International Airport via secure data links, biometrics and advance passenger-information exchange. (timesofindia.indiatimes.com)
Travellers will proceed through a dedicated channel where officials from the destination country stamp them out and in at the same time; on landing they can walk straight to baggage claim.
Gulf officials hope the model can later handle expatriate residents and, ultimately, feed into the planned GCC Grand Tours Visa so that a single clearance covers multi-country itineraries.
![UAE and Bahrain pilot ‘One-Point Air Travellers’ pre-clearance to slash airport queues]()
If you’re mapping out more complex Gulf journeys, VisaHQ can streamline the paperwork. Its UAE hub (https://www.visahq.com/united-arab-emirates/) consolidates the latest entry requirements for the Emirates, Bahrain and neighbouring states, offers real-time updates on initiatives like the forthcoming GCC Grand Tours Visa, and lets corporate travel teams manage applications from one dashboard—saving both time and administrative overhead.
For corporate mobility teams the immediate win is time: average arrival processing is forecast to drop from 45 minutes to under 10, giving day-trippers an extra working hour in the opposite capital. Airlines also anticipate lower minimum-connection times for through-bookings, which should reduce missed-flight costs and enhance network punctuality.
The pilot will run for 90 days before a joint committee reviews security metrics, passenger-satisfaction scores and queuing data. If green-lit, Dubai and Doha are tipped as the next pairing – a development that would further knit together the Gulf’s emerging “single market for talent.”
Multinationals should flag the trial to frequent flyers, update sales-force routing software with the faster ground-time assumptions, and monitor any change in airfare demand (experts predict a 5 % spike on Abu Dhabi-Bahrain sectors once the pilot stabilises).
Travellers will proceed through a dedicated channel where officials from the destination country stamp them out and in at the same time; on landing they can walk straight to baggage claim.
Gulf officials hope the model can later handle expatriate residents and, ultimately, feed into the planned GCC Grand Tours Visa so that a single clearance covers multi-country itineraries.
If you’re mapping out more complex Gulf journeys, VisaHQ can streamline the paperwork. Its UAE hub (https://www.visahq.com/united-arab-emirates/) consolidates the latest entry requirements for the Emirates, Bahrain and neighbouring states, offers real-time updates on initiatives like the forthcoming GCC Grand Tours Visa, and lets corporate travel teams manage applications from one dashboard—saving both time and administrative overhead.
For corporate mobility teams the immediate win is time: average arrival processing is forecast to drop from 45 minutes to under 10, giving day-trippers an extra working hour in the opposite capital. Airlines also anticipate lower minimum-connection times for through-bookings, which should reduce missed-flight costs and enhance network punctuality.
The pilot will run for 90 days before a joint committee reviews security metrics, passenger-satisfaction scores and queuing data. If green-lit, Dubai and Doha are tipped as the next pairing – a development that would further knit together the Gulf’s emerging “single market for talent.”
Multinationals should flag the trial to frequent flyers, update sales-force routing software with the faster ground-time assumptions, and monitor any change in airfare demand (experts predict a 5 % spike on Abu Dhabi-Bahrain sectors once the pilot stabilises).
