Air travellers can utilise a face recognition system to access any airport in the country as part of the Ministry of Civil Aviation’s Digi Yatra project. This program is being undertaken to encourage seamless and hassle-free air transportation. When utilising the ID for the first time, there will be a one-time authentication at the departure airport. After successful verification, facial recognition biometrics will be acquired and saved in Digi Travel ID. The Ministry of Civil Aviation plans to use this effort to digitise ticketing, airport admission, and boarding pass security check-in.
Digi Yatra and its functions
- The passenger registration system will be centralised, and each passenger will be assigned a unique ID when purchasing tickets.
- By submitting the data of any identity evidence, Name, Email address, Mobile Number, and Aadhaar may be produced.
- The airline will communicate the passenger’s details and identification with the airport from which the traveller is departing.
- Adding airlines to Aadhaar for automated check-in at the point of booking for faster airport access and no paper-based intervention.
- A digital biometric scanner machine will be present at the airport’s passenger entrance and related needs.
- Passengers can select whether to use face recognition biometrics for air travel at their discretion.
Digi Yatra’s Objectives
Passengers (including Indian nationals and foreigners) are welcomed as Digi Yatris and benefit from the Digi Yatra program.
1. Improve Passenger Experience and Make All Air Travelers’ Lives Easier
- Provide a smooth, paperless, and hassle-free journey for all travellers at all Indian airport processing/checkpoints.
- Enhance passenger satisfaction so that they can plan their journeys more effectively.
- Learn about airport amenities, protocols, airline schedules, and queue waiting periods.
- Walk-through security scanners pave the way for increasingly sophisticated biometric security systems.
- Stay connected with airport Wi-Fi and participate in unique digital offers across experience zones.
2. Seamless tasks
- At the checkpoint, eliminate redundancy.
- Increase the usage of resources.
3. Digitise Existing Manual Processes To Improve Efficiency
- Receive real-time information regarding traffic and delays to have a better understanding of the next leg of your travel.
- Using digital navigation systems, interactive kiosks, and augmented reality programmes to navigate the airport.
- Stay connected while flying and enjoy limitless adventures. In-flight services and destination-based offers can also be booked digitally.
4. Enrollment in Digi Yatra
- The Digi Yatra will include a centralised passenger registration system. Passengers may generate a Digi Yatra journey ID in a central system by providing information such as their name, email address, cellphone number, and identification.
- On submission, a Digi Yatra ID will be generated. When buying tickets, PAX can use this number. The airlines will send the PACS data, along with the Digi Travel ID, to the destination airport.
- PAX should approach the airport registration booth on their first visit to authenticate their ID. Aadhaar verification would be done online. If the verification is successful, a photo of the PACS will be posted to the Digi Yatra database on the central server.
5. Procedures at the airport
- Travellers will scan their boarding card or e-ticket at the access point e-gate.
- The system validates the passenger and flight information when the barcode / QR code is scanned.
- Digi Travel ID will use face recognition to authenticate the identification.
- Upon successful verification of the ticket and Digi Yatra ID, the e-gate will open.
- Lastly, Travelers will approach the security zone and board the aeroplane via an e-gate that uses facial recognition technology.
