New Delhi: The Digi Yatra facility will commence at 14 more airports by April end 2024. Additionally, more efforts are underway to make the facility more user-friendly with significant amends in the architecture, Digi Yatra Foundation CEO Suresh Khadakbhavi told PTI.

The Digi Yatra facilitates passengers to link their travel nd identity documents together and create a facial scan in advance

The facility based on Facial Recognition Technology (FRT) provides smooth and contactless to nd fro movement of passengers at various checkpoints at airports.

As of now, about 50 lakh people are using this facility at 14 airports for domestic passengers. Discussions are on with various stakeholders concerned to make it available for international travelers as well.

The 14 new airports where the facility is to be rolled out soon are Bagdogra, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Chennai, Coimbatore, Dabolim, Indore, Mangalore, Patna, Raipur, Ranchi, Srinagar, Trivandrum and Vishakhapatnam.

Digi Yatra Foundation CEO Suresh Khadakbhavi said Digi Yatra does not have any passengers’ data, while addressing the privacy issue of the passengers.

“It is only in the phone (of the user) that the data is residing and it is in the control of the passenger himself or herself,” he told PTI.

The data shared by a passenger for Digi Yatra is stored in an encrypted format. To avail of the service, a passenger has to register his or her details on the Digi Yatra app using Aadhaar-based validation and a self-image capture. Next, 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. Personnel at the airports have been directed to enroll passengers only with their informed consent.

Khadakbhavi said work is going to ensure a more user-friendly experience for Digi Yatra users and changes are being looked at in the overall architecture. On making the facility available for international travel, he said discussions are going on with the external affairs ministry and other agencies.

These 14 Airports Will Get Digi Yatra
Bagdogra Airport
Bhubaneswar Airport
Chandigarh Airport
Chennai Airport
Coimbatore Airport
Dabolim Airport
Indore Airport
Mangalore Airport
Patna Airport
Raipur Airport
Ranchi Airport
Srinagar Airport
Trivandrum Airport
Vishakhapatnam Airport (With inputs from PTI)