It is self-evident that airports around the world are not standalone institutions and not independent entities that finance themselves out of nowhere. Airports are built, operated, and maintained with citizens' money, whether directly or indirectly. Each time a passenger buys a ticket, airport fees embedded in the fare go into operations, maintenance, and upgrades. Even citizens who never travel contribute through taxes that flow into state budgets and are allocated to infrastructure, including airports. And the foreign or sovereign investments poured into expanding airports are, in reality, public wealth redirected. Put simply: airports are owned by the people and financed from their pockets, not gifts bestowed by governments. If that is the case, then every citizen and every passenger have the right to receive a service that reflects the scale of money invested. Yet, in many countries—particularly across the Arab region and Africa—those funds are squandered on oversized terminals, lavish interiors, and ceremonial inaugurations, while passengers endure the same outdated experience: endless queues, intrusive manual checks, slow movement, and a lingering sense that dignity is endlessly deferred. The paradox is glaring: the world is moving rapidly towards contactless systems. At London Heathrow, 3D scanning technology has cut screening time per passenger from minutes to seconds. At Singapore's Changi, biometric gates allow travellers to pass using facial or iris recognition without even showing a physical passport. At Dubai International, immigration clearance takes just seconds thanks to smart corridors. These are not luxuries but logical investments in comfort and safety – and a natural right for travellers, since they are the ones funding these facilities. By contrast, many other airports cling to manual pat-downs as if technology did not exist. The result: a passenger who has paid for a ticket, covered airport fees, and contributed taxes to national infrastructure still finds themselves stuck in line, subjected to intrusive and degrading searches – even though safer, faster alternatives already exist worldwide. This is not merely a matter of administration; it is a matter of rights. What happens is simple: citizens pay, but they do not get what they have paid for. Airports are the front doors of nations, the first impression for citizens and visitors alike. If they are financed by the people's money, then it is a basic right that this money be reflected in modern, dignified service. Investment should prioritise contactless systems, artificial intelligence, biometric gates, and technologies that cut queues and protect privacy—not marble floors and glass façades while passengers' dignity remains exposed. What is required today is not a polite call for better service, but a serious move at the international legal level. The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) must assume its responsibility by setting strict standards obligating airports to adopt contactless screening systems, and by criminalising manual, invasive practices, except in clearly defined and legally documented exceptional cases. Persisting with the current approach forces millions of people daily into a demeaning procedure, despite the fact that it is their money funding airports and security systems. In the end, the essential point is simple: airports are funded by citizens' pockets. That funding must return to them in the form of comfort, dignity, and safety—not in the form of queues and humiliating searches. The whole world is striving to make life easier for people, and citizens are entitled to their share of that progress. True security does not degrade travellers – it protects them while respecting them at the same time.
