Flyers will soon be able to avail the benefits of biometric-based mobile application facility for airport entry–DigiYatra–at seven more airports, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia told FE.
The seven airports where the facility will be available are Chennai, Mumbai, Jaipur, Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Guwahati and Cochin. The mobile application aims to provide a seamless and hassle-free experience to passengers at airports.
“We are planning to launch the facility at seven more airports and are targeting to achieve this milestone in the coming few months,” Scindia told Fe.
“This will result in reduced queue waiting times, faster processing times, simpler processes and enhance passenger experience from booking to journey end,” he added.
According to Scindia, in the past eight months, due to high adaptability, DigiYatra has “proved that it is not only a facility for easy and hassle-free air travel but also a tool that has the power to revolutionise air travel in India”.
The DigiYatra facility was initially launched at three airports–New Delhi, Bengaluru and Varanasi–in December 2022.
It was later introduced in Vijayawada, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Pune airports in April 2023.
The main objective of this facility is to enhance passenger experience by eliminating the need for manual verification of tickets and identification documents at multiple touch points.
The system has been effective during the peak travel seasons to decongest airport departure terminal areas, where it has been deployed.
Furthermore, the future deployment plan assumes significance as the Centre recently directed agencies to develop and provide standards for ‘quick, safe and convenient travel experience of the travellers’.
In addition, the Ministry of Home Affairs, along with Ministry of Civil Aviation and other agencies, has embarked upon a series of steps towards expanding as well as enhancing the facilities and infrastructure at major airports.
Till about last month, the downloads of the mobile application had crossed the one-million mark.
Besides, wide adaptability rates for the facility is being witnessed, especially in non-metro cities like Varanasi and Vijayawada.
At present, the DigiYatra Foundation (DYF) is implementing the ‘DigiYatra Central Ecosystem’ (DYCE), which is aimed at streamlining air travel.
The DYF is a not-for-profit company incorporated on 20 February 2019 with an initial shareholding of the Airport Authority of India (AAI), Cochin International Airport (CIAL), Bangalore International Airport (BIAL), Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL), Hyderabad International Airport Ltd (HIAL) and Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL).