Shri Suresh Prabhu, the Union Minister of Commerce & Civil Aviation of India on 4th October 2018, released a new policy – “Digi Yatra,” a biometric-based digital security processing at airports. The minister stated that this is an initiative to better the standards for the security checks at the airport. He further added that a technical committee that would be including members from airlines and industry, airport authorities are formed. This project would start functioning from February 2019 in the cities of Hyderabad & Bangalore International Airports and in the cities like Varanasi, Vijayawada, Kolkata & Pune in April 2019.
What exactly “Digi Yatra” is ?
Well, under this program, a flyer would get a “DigiYatra ID” with minimum personal detail shared. This includes the passenger’s name, mobile number, e-mail, and details of any identity proof. During the time of flight ticket booking, the passenger will get this DigiYatra ID. Further, the particular airline is will share that DigiYatra ID with the departure airport.
How does it work and what are the key features?
- It is a centralized way of passenger registration. Each of them would be issued with a unique ID during the ticket booking.
- You can use any valid ID proof for creating the DigiYatri ID.
- Then, the airline you are flying with would share the passenger’s ID with the concerned departure airport.
- For automated check-ins and faster entrance, the passengers can link their Aadhaar Card.
- This program will introduce biometric digital processing at airports.
- If the passenger wishes then, this biometric processing can be based on his facial recognition, totally dependable on their will and convenience.
- This program will implement from February 2019 in all major Indian cities.
- The passenger would benefit from the genuine notification about the flight delays. Other updates include congestion and also regarding their luggage at the airport’s claim belt.