The Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) has announced the soft launch of the Centres DigiYatra initiative. DigiYatra , the passenger processing system based on facial recognition technology, has been piloted at the Delhi airport and has had the required infrastructure set up at the airport’s Terminal 3.

 

What is DigiYatra and how will it work?

  • DigiYatra envisages that travellers pass through various checkpoints at the airport through paperless and contactless processing, using facial features to establish their identity, which would be linked to the boarding pass.
  • With this technology, the entry of passengers would be automatically processed based on the facial recognition system at all checkpoints – including entry into the airport, security check areas, aircraft boarding, etc.

 

How can people avail the DigiYatra facility?

  • To use this facility, passengers will need to first download the DigiYatra app.
  • Users can register on the app using Aadhaar credentials, followed by a selfie with the Aadhaar card.
  • After this, vaccination details using CoWIN credentials will have to be added to the app.
  • Then, the person will have to scan his or her boarding pass with the QR code or Bar code, after which the credentials will be shared with the airport.
  • For entry into the airport, passengers will need to scan their boarding passes at the e-gate and look into the facial recognition system camera installed there. A similar method will be applicable for entry into other checkpoints.

 

How is DigiYatra being implemented?

  • The project is being implemented by the DigiYatra Foundation — a joint-venture company whose shareholders are the Airports Authority of India (26% stake) and Bengaluru Airport, Delhi Airport, Hyderabad Airport, Mumbai Airport and Cochin International Airport. These five shareholders equally hold the remaining 74% of the shares.
  • The DigiYatra Foundation will be the custodian of the passenger ID validation process. It will also define the criteria for compliance and guidelines for the local airport systems.
  • There will be regular audits of the various compliances and guidelines (including guidelines on security, image quality, and data privacy) defined by the DigiYatra guidelines for the local airport Biometric Boarding Systems.