CT scanners shift DXB from queues to flow
Dubai Airports is deploying CT-based screening machines across DXB. They use high-resolution 3D imaging to scan bags without unpacking. According to Dubai Airports and Smiths Detection, travellers can keep electronics and liquids inside their bags throughout the process.
Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports, confirmed the group is reinvesting in next-generation security technology. Passengers no longer need to remove laptops or liquid bags. In his words, the process becomes slicker, quicker, faster and more convenient.
The rollout follows successful trials of next-generation screening equipment at DXB. Airport officials described those trials as delivering a much quicker and more reliable service for both hold baggage and passenger baggage. Dubai Airports is therefore installing the machines progressively across all three terminals, replacing older equipment so every passenger benefits from the same standard.
Dubai Airports operational data shows around 99 per cent of passengers pass through security in under five minutes. Smart lanes and upgraded screening capacity together drive that result. The CT scanners form the centrepiece of that improvement.
Meanwhile, the technology upgrade connects to Dubai’s broader border and identity systems. DXB already supports biometric processing at multiple touchpoints, including Smart Gates, Red Carpet corridors and AI-enabled immigration lanes. By combining faster bag screening with document-light identity checks, Dubai Airports is building a security regime that is both tighter and less visible to the traveller.
What does the CT rollout mean for investors and Gulf aviation?
Griffiths has stressed that DXB’s growth over the past decade came with limited major new infrastructure. That makes productivity gains at checkpoints and immigration central to the airport’s model. DXB handled 95.2 million passengers in 2025, its best year on record, after 92.3 million in 2024, according to Dubai Airports figures. Incremental cuts in processing time therefore translate into large effective capacity gains inside existing buildings.
Griffiths has described how speeding the passenger journey by half can, in effect, let twice as many travellers move through the same infrastructure. That is a compelling argument for technology over concrete.
In May 2025, Dubai Aviation Engineering Projects awarded a contract to Smiths Detection to install advanced checkpoint screening technologies across all three DXB terminals. That award confirms a visible, multi-year capital programme in airport security and smart infrastructure. As a result, the supplier universe for CT scanners, smart lanes and imaging software gains a high-profile reference client with ongoing upgrade cycles.
The CT scanner rollout runs alongside refurbishment work in Terminal 1 and Concourse B. Gulf News and Dubai Airports reports show Terminal 1 is receiving new flooring and additional security lanes. Concourse B and the Hammerhead remote terminal are also being refreshed.
Three reasons aviation-linked investors should take note
This development carries three clear signals for aviation-linked investors. First, it confirms sustained capital expenditure in security and passenger-experience technology at one of the world’s busiest hubs. Second, it highlights Dubai’s preference for modular technology over new construction as a way to manage volume and volatility. Third, it offers a test bed for CT screening and AI-driven security concepts that other Gulf and MENA airports are likely to adopt over time.
As Dubai airport security upgrades move from pilot to network-wide deployment through 2026, investors and policymakers should watch three metrics: the pace of CT scanner installation across all terminals, the impact on measured processing times at peak periods, and the extent to which similar security-tech procurement emerges at rival Gulf hubs seeking to match DXB’s efficiency benchmark.
Quick answers
Yes. Dubai Airports has deployed CT-based scanners that use 3D imaging to screen bags without unpacking. Passengers no longer need to remove laptops or liquid bags at DXB checkpoints.
Dubai Airports operational data shows around 99 per cent of passengers pass through security in under five minutes, supported by smart lanes and upgraded CT screening equipment.
Smiths Detection was awarded a contract in May 2025 by Dubai Aviation Engineering Projects to install advanced checkpoint screening technologies across all three DXB terminals.
