Prelims
Digi Yatra Expands to International Flights
Context: The Ministry of Civil Aviation announced the commencement of Digi Yatra trials for international passengers across seven major Indian airports for eligible Indian nationals holding e-passports travelling on select Air India and IndiGo flights.
About Digi Yatra Expands to International Flights:
What it is?
- A biometric Facial Recognition Technology (FRT)-based digital initiative designed to enable seamless, paperless, and contactless passenger processing at airport checkpoints. It operates on a self-sovereign identity model where credentials and facial templates are stored locally on the user’s smartphone wallet rather than on a central database.
Background:
- Conceived by the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) under the Digital India and “Ease of Flying” visions, with policy standards formulated in 2018.
- Officially launched for commercial domestic operations on December 1, 2022, starting with Delhi, Bengaluru, and Varanasi airports.
- Managed and operated by the Digi Yatra Foundation (DYF), a non-profit Section 8 joint-venture consortium comprising the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and major private airport operators (DIAL, MIAL, BIAL, GHIAL, and CIAL).
Current Airports Under Digi Yatra:
- Operational across 39 domestic airports across India.
- Serves over 65 crore registered users and has facilitated more than 11 crore journeys.
- Scheduled to expand to an additional 25 domestic airports by 2027.
Newly Announced International Trials:
- Trial Airports (7): Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Cochin, Mumbai, Chennai, and Amritsar.
- Partner Carriers: Selected international departures operated by Air India and IndiGo.
- Eligibility Requirement: Restricted during trials to Indian nationals possessing an e-passport (biometric passport with an embedded contactless chip).
Key Features of Digi Yatra:
- Decentralized Self-Sovereign Identity: Stores passengers’ personal and biometric data securely in encrypted mobile wallets, ensuring privacy. Airport-shared information is deleted within 24 hours of flight departure.
- E-Passport Verifiable Credentials: Enables international passengers to create digital travel credentials by scanning their passport’s Machine Readable Zone (MRZ) and reading its electronic chip through smartphone NFC.
- Global Interoperability: Aligns with IATA One ID and ICAO Public Key Directory (PKD) standards, enabling secure identity verification and compatibility with international aviation systems.
- Complementary Processing: Facilitates digital identity verification without replacing mandatory checks. International passengers must still carry valid passports and visas and complete immigration and airline verification procedures.
Significance:
- Reduces identity verification time to approximately 5–10 seconds per e-gate, easing congestion at terminal entry points, security checkpoints and boarding gates.
- Strengthens India’s adoption of biometric Digital Travel Credentials (DTC), improving international interoperability and overall airport operational efficiency.
