Sharjah, Mar 25 (Emirates 24 x 7): A technical snag in the eye-scanner machine at the Sharjah airport left many passengers stranded for more than 8 hours today.
“The problem was detected at 5am. And it has been solved now,” reported Immigration officer Mohammed Jasim. The problem was looked into by the Ministry of Interior.
The failure delayed the entry into the UAE for hundreds of passengers, who couldn’t leave until the mandatory iris-scan was administered.
Understandably, this lead to chaos at the airport arrival area, with many residents upset over the long wait in welcoming their family members, who had travelled long hours to reach the emirate.
Some said that the authorities should have put an alternate plan in place.
All visitors to the UAE have to complete the eye-scan, an initiative set up to detect fake passport holders and prevent black-listed residents from re-entering.