DIGI YATRA

DIGI YATRA

IN NEWS -

Union minister for Civil Aviation inaugurated the Digi Yatra facility for 9 airports, bringing the total number of Digi Yatra enabled airports to 24.

ABOUT DIGI-YATRA

• Launched in 2022 by Ministry of Civil Aviation.
• Digital initiative to enhace the passenger experience with seamless, paperless, contactless boarding at airports based in Facial Recognition Technology.
• DigiYatrawas rolled out as an entirely voluntary programme from December 2022.
  • In December 2022, it was rolled out at three airports, including Delhi.
  • Since then, it has been implemented at 11 airports, and will be expanded to 14 more in the months to come.
• It is an industry-led initiative co-ordinated by the Ministry of Civil Aviation in line with Digital India's vision to transform the nation into a digitally empowered society.
• The 'DigiYatra' is a Biometric Enabled Seamless Travel experience (BEST) based on Facial Recognition Technology.
• 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.

GOALS OF DIGI YATRA

• Setting Industry Standards for Digital Transformation- Establishing benchmarks and standard operating procedures (SOPs) to guide the digital transformation of the Indian Aviation Industry.
• Unified Identity Ecosystem – Creating a cohesive “DigiYatra” Identity Management ecosystem that integrates digital identities such as Aadhaar, Driving License, Passport, and others. This system enables a biometric boarding process at all airports, including Tier 1, 2, and 3 across India.
• Timely System Rollout Oversight- Monitoring and managing a time-bound rollout of the DigiYatra system by coordinating efforts among airlines, online travel agents, global distribution systems, and airports.
• Communication and Marketing- Conducting extensive mass communication, marketing, and awareness campaigns through social media, television, and newspapers to inform and educate the public about the new standards and procedures.

BENEFITS

• Passenger need not show boarding pass or ID at multiple check points.
• Minimum human intervention; Less queuing time.
• It will also ensure enhanced security at the airport as the passenger data is validated with Airlines Departure control System, thereby only designated passengers can enter the terminal.
• Airport operator will have real time information on passenger load and resource planning becomes better.
• Airlines will be benefitted by knowing the passenger position in the airport.
• Airport throughput will be enhanced.

CHALLENGES

• Privacy violations
  • Described as the ‘future of air travel’, Digi Yatra is touted as a measure to enhance airport security, enable seamless travel.
  • However, concerns have been raised as the government can get access to increasing information about people’s travel patterns.
  • The larger issue of data shared, along with your Aadhaar number included, is also an important concern.
• Data Security

Digi Yatra is collecting all facial biometric data which raises the associated security concerns.