Future of Airports in India: DigiYatra for International Travel, Coming Soon

27.05.2024 - 11:45 / skift.com / Peden Doma Bhutia

India is actively working on expanding the DigiYatra facility for international travel. The DigiYatra Foundation expects to start prototype testing on e-passport based enrollment from next month, the CEO of DigiYatra Foundation, Suresh Khadakbhavi, said recently at an event in Saudi Arabia.

What Is DigiYatra? This digital initiative, aimed at revolutionizing airport check-ins, uses a mobile app that allows passengers to use facial recognition as a boarding pass.

When Was This Launched? Launched on December 1, 2022, at three airports — New Delhi, Varanasi, and Bengaluru — DigiYatra has swiftly expanded its footprint, now operating in 14 airports across India and set to launch in another 14 next month.

The next frontier for DigiYatra is international travel.

AIrport entry queues and ID / ticket checks – India is the only major country I am aware of that requires this. Wonder if there is a way forward that does not require this bottleneck. Digiyatra helps for the digitally-savvy, but is not there for International yet pic.twitter.com/wjJRYV0GkK

The integration of chip-enabled e-passports into the app is a crucial step, enabling verifiable credentials for foreign travelers.

Speaking at the Future Aviation Forum in Riyadh last week, Khadakbhavi said the prototype testing will progress significantly in the coming months, although the DigiYatra Foundation must collaborate with the Bureau of Immigration and the Ministry of External Affairs, indicating a potentially lengthy process.

The DigiYatra Foundation, co-owned by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and private airports, also plans to align with International Air Transport Association (IATA)’s One-ID initiative for global interoperability. This initiative, backed by the IATA, representing around 320 airlines in over 120 countries, seeks to streamline passenger journeys through biometric-enabled identification.

Travelers prioritize speed and convenience and are increasingly embracing biometrics, according to IATA’s 2023 Global Passenger Survey.

Croatia, the Netherlands and Canada are testing digital travel. Finland last year launched the world’s first digital travel document pilot program at Helsinki Airport.

“Passengers want technology to work harder, so that they spend less time ‘being processed’, standing in queues. And they are willing to use biometric data if it delivers this result. But we need cooperation across the value chain and with governments to make it happen with secure technology that is available today,” said Nick Careen, IATA’s senior vice president for operations, safety and security.

DigiYatra’s vision extends beyond airports as it looks to facilitate hotel check-ins and provide hassle-free access to public places.

Over the past