There were quite a lot of happy expatriates in Qatar when the government recently decided to make E-gate services at the Hamad International Airport free of charge for users.

And now, almost a month after its implementation, people have happily taken to the new system at the arrivals and departure terminals, reports The Peninsula.

The common sentiment among people is that E-gates help save time and energy while travelling to or from the country. As a result, immigration procedures have become faster, thanks to not having to stand in long queues where officials manually checked all documents.

Any person above 18, living in Qatar, can make use of the system using their Qatari ID cards.

All they need to do is scan the ID card on the card reader, followed by finger print or eye scan (retina scan). If all data matches, then the gates will open automatically.

“I used the E-gate service last week and it was very fast. All I had to do was swipe the Qatar ID, get an eye scan and just go. Everything was completed in a matter of minutes. It can be very helpful in situations when we reach the airport late for departure,” Dharshan Goonethillaka, a bank employee, was quoted as saying by The Peninsula.

At the moment, 19 E-gates have been installed at the departures terminal and 16 at the arrival terminal.

Some people have complained that the queue in front of E-gates were also growing longer, as many people don’t know how to use the system. But it should ease in the coming days and make travel through the HIA a truly easy experience.