On October 4 2018, the Ministry of Civil Aviation announced the much-awaited initiative “Digi Yatra”. Once under application, it will not only be a giant leap forward in India’s dream of going digital, but will also make air traveling much simpler for passengers.
Union Minister Jayant Sinha had revealed “Digi Yatra” for the first time over a year ago, in April 2017. As the project nears its first curtain raising, here’s all you need to know, hop on!
How does Digi Yatra work?
As the term itself hints at, “Digi Yatra” aims to make traveling a digital process. Meaning, if things work out, you will soon be able to fly in planes without carrying a thick stash of documents with you. All you need to carry, is your smile. So, how does it work?
- The passengers who opt for Digi Yatra, or DY, will require a unique Digi Yatra ID to avail the services.
- For this, the government will introduce a centralised registration portal.
- The ID will be generated using following details – name, e-mail ID, phone number, a photograph, as well as one ID proof.
- Once the unique IDfully created, the first time departure using the “Digi” ID will require a one-time verification.
- After the first time verification, the biometrics will successfully be saved in the database, along with the Digi ID.
- On subsequent ticket bookings, the passengers will have to submit their unique Digi Yatra ID at the time of the purchase.
- When at the airport, the provided QR code in their mobile phone(s), and a facial scan will act as the “boarding pass”.
- Once inside, all the formalities like check-in, baggage drop etc will be possible with a simple facial scan, thus considerably reducing the time consumed, as well as the hassle.
All the general security checking processes, however, will remain the same post Digi Yatra comes into action, given the security concerns. Nonetheless, if the initiative pans out as planned, air traveling will become much more simpler- for both the passengers, as well as the authorities.
When can you expect to use it?
In a press conference held on October 4, the Civil Aviation minister, Suresh Prabhu informed the media that the central platform for Digital Yatra will be operational from February, 2019. In the initial stage, airports like Bengaluru and Hyderabad will be ready for the project at the same time. Four more airports, namely- Kolkata, Varanasi, Vijaywada and Pune will be ready for Digi Yatra by April, 2019.
Once the six airports manage a successful run of this digital system, it will further be made functional in major airports, like Delhi and Mumbai.
A landmark innovation?
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) hopes to eventually make all the airports under its authority smoothly function with Digi Yatra. With this, the usual “anxious” boarding passengers are expected to heave a sigh of relief. Also, by eliminating the need to have multiple verifications, once the passenger is inside the airport, Digi Yatra will substantially reduce the manpower required.
With the authorities proudly announcing the new project, it will be interesting to see how it rolls out in the upcoming year. Stay tuned!
