Minister of Civil Aviation announces Digi Yatra's expansion to 25 additional airports

According to Jyotiraditya Scindia, Minister of Civil Aviation, Digi Yatra, the project that uses facial recognition technology to facilitate seamless air travel, is scheduled to reach 25 additional airports by 2024. Digi Yatra is currently available at 13 airports, but by the end of 2024, it hopes to be present at 38 airports and handle 95% of domestic air passenger traffic.

Digi Yatra provides for contactless, seamless movement of passengers at various check points at airports based on Facial Recognition Technology (FRT). 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). 

At a briefing in the national capital, Scindia said Digi Yatra will be introduced at 14 airports in the first phase and another 11 airports in the second phase next year. By the end of 2024, Digi Yatra will be available at 25 more airports and the total number of airports that will have the facility will increase to 38.

For availing the service, a passenger has to register his or her details on DigiYatra 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.