Musk says 'US needs to catch up' in remarks about airport check-in at Abu Dhabi

Tesla chief executive was responding to video shared on social media platform X

Elon Musk said the US needs to catch up with technology being used at Zayed International Airport in Abu Dhabi. Reuters

Tesla chief executive Elon Musk said the US needed to catch up with the UAE in a social media comment about Zayed International Airport in Abu Dhabi.

Mr Musk made his remark in response to a video showing the ease of checking in to the airport using facial recognition.

The comment on X, which the billionaire owns, was in reply to a clip from a TikTok user discussing the technology available at the airport.

“[The] US does need to catch up,” said Mr Musk.

The airport's Terminal A opened to passengers in November. Before then, it was first seen by a global audience when it was used as a location in the Tom Cruise action movie Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One.

Passengers who check in online can use the self-service desk at the terminal that will detect their biometric details using facial recognition.

The system does all the required checks on visas and data verification.

It was estimated that some passengers could get from the kerb outside the terminal to their gate in 12 minutes.

Terminal A was built to attract more airlines to start flights to the UAE capital and aims to “future-proof” operations by increasing its capacity to 65 million passengers in 10 years, up from 45 million currently, airport chiefs told The National last year.

The opening of the new terminal was soon followed by the renaming of the entire airport. Abu Dhabi International Airport officially changed its name to Zayed International Airport in February.

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