Digi Yatra To Achieve Contactless Processing Of Passengers At Airports With Facial Recognition — Details

For availing service, passenger has to register on DigiYatra app using Aadhaar-based validation and a self image capture. Then boarding pass has to be scanned & credentials are shared with the airport

New Delhi: Civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Thursday launched Digi Yatra which will eliminate paperwork and enable smooth and hassle-free entry to air passengers through Facial Recognition Technology at airports in the country, reported news agency ANI. With Digi Yatra, passenger data can be automatically processed based on a facial recognition system at various checkpoints, including at security check areas.

Apart from Delhi, Digi Yatra has been launched at Varanasi and Bengaluru airports on Thursday. Hyderabad, Kolkata, Pune, and Vijayawada airports will follow soon by March 2023, and later the technology will be spanned across all airports in the country. 

The project basically envisages that travellers may pass through various checkpoints at the airports through paperless and contactless processing using facial features to establish their identity which could be linked to the boarding pass.

The service does not have a central storage of Personally Identifiable Information. The passenger's ID and travel credentials are stored in a secure wallet on the passenger's smartphone itself.

How To Use Digi Yatra

For availing the service, a passenger has to register their details on the Digi Yatra app using Aadhaar-based validation and a self-image capture. In the next step, the boarding pass has to be scanned and the credentials are shared with the airport.

At the airport e-gate, the passenger has to first scan the bar coded boarding pass and the facial recognition system installed at the e-gate will validate the passenger's identity and travel document. Once this process is done, the passenger can enter the airport through the e-gate.

The passenger will have to follow the normal procedure to clear the security and board the aircraft.

The beta version of Digi Yatra app was launched by DIAL on August 15.

Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) operates the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) in the national capital. It is also the country's largest airport.

Digi Yatra Foundation, a not-for-profit company, is the nodal body for Digi Yatra.

The foundation's shareholders are Airport Authority of India (AAI), Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL), Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL), Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL), Hyderabad International Airport Ltd (HIAL) and Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL).