As per the latest news reports, Digi Yatra will likely expand to an additional 14 airports this month. This was also informed by Digi Yatra Foundation CEO Suresh Khadakbhavi. As regarding the application, it facilitates contactless passenger movement at supported airports, thereby eliminating the need for physical boarding passes.
In late last year, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia announced that the Digi Yatra facility would be implemented at 14 airports during the initial phase, followed by an additional 11 airports during the second phase in 2024.
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According to a report, the rollout timeline for these new airports hasn’t been specified by Khadakbhavi, but if all goes as planned, they are expected to become operational by the end of April. The Digi Yatra initiative aims to cover a total of 38 airports in India by the end of 2024, with 14 airports in the first phase and another 11 in the second.
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Using Facial Recognition Technology (FRT), the Digi Yatra system identifies passengers and grants them access. This system was launched in December 2022, and it currently serves nearly 5 million users at 13 domestic airports. If reports are to go by, the list of potential new airports that might soon get this Digi Yatra app, includes Bhubaneswar, Bagdogra, Chennai, Chandigarh, Coimbatore, Dabolim, Indore, Mangalore, Raipur, Patna, Ranchi, Srinagar, Trivandrum, and Visakhapatnam.
Reports further add that efforts are underway to extend the facility to international travellers. Despite concerns over data privacy, Khadakbhavi assured that Digi Yatra doesn’t store passengers’ data; instead, it remains solely on users’ phones under their control.
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It has also been highlighted in reports issues that were faced by Digi Yatra users in March, where they had to uninstall the old app, download a new one, and re-register, raising concerns about data safety. However, Khadakbhavi did say that passenger data for Digi Yatra is stored encrypted.
The Digi Yatra Foundation, a not-for-profit entity, spearheads the initiative, with shareholders including Airport Authority of India (AAI), Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL), Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL), Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL), Hyderabad International Airport Ltd (HIAL), and Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL).
