Pune: DigiYatra, India’s biometric airport facilitation platform, will soon begin live trials for international passengers as part of a phased global rollout, as it prepares for expansion to 26 more airports in the current financial year.DigiYatra Foundation CEO Suresh Khadakbhavi told TOIthat the platform, using facial recognition and Aadhaar-linked credentials, had successfully completed an International Air Transport Association (IATA)-aligned proof of concept and was now moving towards live international deployment.
DigiYatra Foundation CEO Suresh Khadakbhavi
“The international deployment of DigiYatra is progressing in a phased and collaborative manner across the aviation ecosystem. The initiative aims to enable seamless international travel through verifiable credentials and consent-based identity sharing while maintaining privacy, security and passenger choice,” Khadakbhavi said. He, however, did not disclose timelines or the airports selected for the initial rollout.He said the international rollout would require coordination among airlines, airports, immigration authorities, security agencies and border-control regulators. “As a result, implementation will begin on select routes and airports based on technical and operational readiness,” Khadakbhavi said, adding that nearly 30% of domestic departing passengers across India were now using DigiYatra, reflecting growing acceptance of the platform’s faster, contactless travel experience.At Pune airport, director Santosh Dhoke said about 30% of the airport’s average 16,000 daily departing passengers were using DigiYatra.Frequent flyers, however, questioned why biometric e-gates at boarding gates remain largely unused. Businessman and frequent flyer Jayesh Parulkar said, “Passengers at airports including Pune, Delhi and Kolkata still faced long boarding queues even though the infrastructure was in place to scan boarding passes and proceed through the boarding gate.”Responding, Khadakbhavi said the technology was fully operational, but deployment depended on airport operators and airlines. “Many carriers continue to follow zone-wise boarding procedures to manage passenger flow, aircraft turnaround times and operational requirements, making manual verification more practical. The infrastructure is already in place and can be activated as operational readiness and airline preferences evolve,” he said, adding that wider adoption of biometric boarding gates was expected as passenger volumes increased and airport processes became more digitised.“By FY27, we plan to expand airport coverage, simplify onboarding, introduce multilingual support and deepen collaboration with airlines and airport operators,” Khadakbhavi added.GRAPHICLaunched at select Indian airports in Dec 2022, DigiYatra is a paperless, biometric-based air travel system for Indian airports, allowing passengers to complete airport entry, check-in and security screening through facial recognition at e-gatesPune airport adopted the system in March 2023. It is currently available at 39 airportsThe platform has surpassed 24 million app downloads and facilitated over 100 million passenger journeysHow it worksOne-time registration: Download the DigiYatra app and sign up with Aadhaar + face scan. Your details get linkedAt the airport: Cameras with facial recognition at entry gates, security check, and boarding gates scan your faceWalk through: Your face becomes your boarding pass and ID. No need to show phone or papers at each checkpoint
