Sara is part of a new City Check-in and Travel Store which recently opened in Dubai’s financial district. The robot uses facial recognition technology to match customers’ faces with scanned passports, check them in, and guide them to the luggage drop area.

In a bid to maximize user experience, Dubai-based Emirates airline launched a City Check‑in and Travel Store last month where passengers will be able to book their travel, check-in for flights, shop for travel essentials, and also, drop their luggage as early as 24 hours and up to four hours before their flight. The airline says that this saves time and allows customers to arrive at the airport at a leisurely pace.

Sara has a wide LCD screen measuring 2.5 meters and is touch-friendly. Sara will be equipped to match the faces of customers with their passports, check passengers in, and guide them through to the luggage drop area.

Passengers can also ask Sara for expert advice and offers on trending destinations, while travel consultants can further assist in purchasing tickets for future journeys, managing upgrades, managing current bookings, selecting preferred seats, and arranging extra baggage, the statement reads.

Emirates is set to adopt and integrate AI into its services in a big way. Not a week ago, Emirates President Tim Clark hinted that the airline might have AI co-pilots very soon. “Artificial intelligence is set to have a big impact on the aviation industry, with one-pilot planes a possibility. You’ve got to take time to look at what this could do to improve what you do,” he said.

According to interestingengineering