Government introduces paperless entry at select airports to make air travel more accessible

The government has introduced paperless entry at select airports to make air travel more accessible. In the first phase, the initiative will be rolled out at seven airports, with the first three being Delhi, Bengaluru and Varanasi. After this, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Pune and Vijayawada airports will be included by March 2023. After this the technology will be used at the national level.

digiyatra

• DigiTra is a concept under which passengers pass through various checkpoints at the airport through a paperless and contactless process using facial features (linked to their boarding pass) to verify their identity. linked).
• With this technology, entry of passengers will be done automatically based on facial recognition system at all checkpoints including entry into airport, security checking areas, aircraft boarding etc.

Execution

• The project is being implemented by DigiYatra Foundation under the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
• DigiYatra Foundation is a joint venture company with Airports Authority of India as its shareholder.

Importance

• Facial recognition technology is beneficial as it makes air travel more convenient and reduces congestion at airports.
• Facial recognition systems have helped bring efficiency at various airports around the world, including Dubai, Singapore, Atlanta and Narita (Japan). As a result, they operate at low cost.
• Present manual processes are digitized and efforts are made to bring in better efficiencies
• Security standards will be enhanced and existing system performance will be improved
• With DigiYatra, India is setting a new global benchmark for a seamless, hassle free and health risk free process at airports