Digi Yatra Facility To Be Launched At Mumbai Airports In August

The government has said that Digi Yatra facility will be launched at six more airports, including at Mumbai and Kochi, in August. Currently, the facility is available at seven airports. It was first launched on December 1, 2022 at the airports in Delhi, Varanasi and Bengaluru. Digi Yatra facility will be launched at six more airports namely Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Kochi, Lucknow, Jaipur, and Guwahati airports in the month of August 2023. The implementation and installation of Digi Yatra infrastructure at these airports will take place in a phased manner,'' the civil aviation ministry said in a release. The facility provides for contactless, seamless movement of passengers at various check points at airports based on Facial Recognition Technology (FRT).

As on August 10, 3.46 million passengers have used the Digi Yatra facility, as per the ministry.At present, the Digi Yatra facility is also available at Vijayawada, Pune, Hyderabad, and Kolkata.Under the facility, the data of passengers are encrypted and not stored centrally. It is shared only between the passenger and the airport of travel origin, where the passenger's Digi Yatra ID needs to be validated. The data is purged from the airport's system within 24 hours of departure of the flight.The Digi Yatra app is a free app available for both Android and iOS phones and can be downloaded on any smartphone with Google Play Store for Android and App Store for iPhones.

The app allows for contactless identification, which cuts down on time spent at security checks, boarding gates, and airport entry points. Passengers can obtain Digi Yatra ID by sharing information such as their name, email address, mobile number, and specifics of an identification (Aadhaar, driving license, voter ID etc.). A Digi Yatra ID will be generated after this information is entered; it must be shared when purchasing tickets. The departing airport will receive this ID and the passenger data from the airlines. If the passenger has opted for Aadhaar-based verification, the identity will be verified online. However, if the passenger has selected other identity card, the verification will be done manually by security personnel at the airport. Scan the barcoded boarding pass at the airport e-gate; the facial recognition system there will verify your identity and the travel document. After that, passenger can enter and proceed as usual to get through security.