Shri Jyotiraditya Scindia, Union Minister for Civil Aviation, inaugurated the Digi Yatra from the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi for three airports throughout the nation: New Delhi, Varanasi, and Bengaluru. Based on facial recognition technology (FRT), Digi Yatra is designed to achieve contactless, seamless processing of travelers at airports.
Digi Yatra will connect India to world-class airports such as Heathrow and Atlanta. The Minister gave the example of Dubai Airport, where Digi Yatra saved passengers up to 40% of their time.
The Minister further added that, compared to other ports of call, the Indian system is significantly smoother from entry to exit and will be one of the most efficient worldwide.
What is DigiYatra?
In short, DigiYatra aims to simplify and eliminate paperwork. Biometric Enabled Seamless Travel (BEST) uses facial recognition technology to make airport travel smooth.
- You must first register with the DigiYatra app in order to use this feature.
It will function as a mobile-based, decentralized ID management platform, storing your travel documents digitally. - The technology will make it easy for you to get through all checkpoints, such as the airport, security checks, and boarding an airplane.
- The goal of DigiYatra is to cut down on paperwork, and it fits with the Prime Minister’s plan to make India a digitally empowered nation.
- It aims to make the e-boarding process for getting into an airport and boarding a flight as easy as possible so that people can travel without any trouble.
What are the benefits of using DigiYatra?
- Hassle-free travel: all your travel and identification documents will be stored digitally, meaning no paper work.
- Reduced waiting time: The technology will make the boarding process significantly faster in less than 3 seconds.
- Enhanced Security: The airline departure control system will validate passenger data, boosting airport security.
- Dedicated Gates: Air passengers using DigiYatra will have dedicated gates.
- Face recognition technology: Air travelers using this service will use their faces as their documentation, ID, and boarding pass.
- Contactless: DigiYatra reduces the requirement for physical contact.
Availability
Digi Yatra will be launched in seven airports in the first phase. But as of right now, it has only been made available at three airports: Delhi, Bengaluru, and Varanasi. By March 2023, it will also be available at four other airports: Hyderabad, Kolkata, Pune, and Vijayawada. Later on, it would be adopted by all the nation’s airports.
Users can download the DigiYatra app from the Play Store or App Store and follow the enrollment process for using DigiYatra. At the moment, the service is only available to domestic travelers.
Speaking about the Digi Yatra project, Union Minister for Civil Aviation Shri Jyotiraditya Scindia, said:
With Digi Yatra, India is setting a new global benchmark for a seamless, hassle free and health risk free process at airports.