Introduction

Digi Yatra is a digital initiative which allows travellers to pass through various checkpoints at the airport through paperless and contactless processing, using their facial features as their identity linked to the boarding pass.

What is Digi Yatra?

Digi Yatra is a technical innovative program for passengers at the airports which ensures passengers are seamlessly processed through various checkpoints using a facial recognition system from entry point to aircraft boarding.

• It also simplified the self-bag drop and check-in processes, leveraging facial recognition for passenger identification and data retrieval. Digi Yatra will facilitate paperless travel and avoid identity check at multiple points.

Objectives of Digi Yatra

Goals of Digi Yatra

• Setting Industry Standards for Digital Transformation- Establishing benchmarks and standard operating procedures (SOPs) to guide the digital transformation of the Indian Aviation Industry.
• Unified Identity Ecosystem – Creating a cohesive “DigiYatra” Identity Management ecosystem that integrates digital identities such as Aadhaar, Driving License, Passport, and others. This system enables a biometric boarding process at all airports, including Tier 1, 2, and 3 across India.
• Timely System Rollout Oversight- Monitoring and managing a time-bound rollout of the DigiYatra system by coordinating efforts among airlines, online travel agents, global distribution systems, and airports.
• Communication and Marketing- Conducting extensive mass communication, marketing, and awareness campaigns through social media, television, and newspapers to inform and educate the public about the new standards and procedures.

Implementation of Digi Yatra

The project is being implemented by the DigiYatra Foundation under the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

• DigiYatra Foundation is a joint-venture company which is backed by many shareholders including  Airports Authority of India and Bengaluru Airport, Delhi Airport, Hyderabad Airport, Mumbai Airport and Cochin International Airport.

What is the Purpose of Digi Yatra?

• Long queues and long waiting hours: Large crowds at airports due to clog paperwork especially led to frustrating delays which impacted the travel experience and overall satisfaction of passengers.
• Inefficient paper-based processes: Existing paper-based document verification requires physical documents and manual checks, which are time-consuming and prone to errors.
• Security Concern: Paper based methods could be prone to fraud and identity theft which raise security concerns for both passengers and authorities.
• Absence of Contactless window: During the time of pandemic concern raised for the contactless option for the passenger for safe and secure travel
• Growth in Air Transport: With the rollout of UDAN scheme a large volume of people started to opt air services and to make the aviation industry more efficient India needed a scalable and efficient system to manage the increasing demand.

Benefits of Digi Yatra

• Contactless and paperless entry for the passenger which releases their burden of paper management during check in.
• No ID or boarding pass of passengers required at every checkpoint.
• Very less human involvement which means less time consuming process.
• The app will map the passenger with the PNR, enhancing security.
• Only legitimate passengers will be allowed to enter.
• The airport operator will have real-time access to data on passenger volume.

Concerns and Issues Related to Digi Yatra

• Privacy Infringement: There are few incidents which suggest biometric data collection without clear and informed consent are raising concerns about passenger privacy.
• Data Security: When Data is the new oil, Digi yatra heightened worries regarding personal data protection, fueled by previous instances of data breaches in the aviation industry.
• Narrow adoption: Many people are in the habit of following the traditional format of paper work verification to keep themselves aloof from technical complications in application.
• Technology Reliability: The facial recognition system may face potential challenges, including errors or biases, requiring ongoing scrutiny to ensure reliability.

Way Forward

• Expansion of Digi Yatra: 

  • Due to the high volume of people at the airport there is a need to diversify the scope of Digi Yatra. Digi Yatra facility should be available at all major airports and offered by all airlines operating in India.

• Integration with Service Providers: 

  • Linking Digi Yatra portal with other travel platforms like booking portals and ride-hailing apps can further give a more holistic experience to passengers.

• Enhancing Security Features: 

  • Regular improvement of biometric authentication and data security measures is vital.

• Protection of Data of Passengers:

• • Encouraging more airlines, airports, and passengers to participate is crucial for wider acceptance.

Progress So Far

• June 2023: Recently in an official statement, the Civil Aviation Ministry announced that the number of passengers who have installed the Digi Yatra application on their mobile phones has touched 1.746 million people since its launch.
• August 2023: Digi Yatra facility launched at 6 more airports namely Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Kochi, Lucknow, Jaipur, and Guwahati airports.

Recent Developments/Controversies

• March 2023

  • The Ministry of Civil Aviation stated that Under Digi Yatra, passengers’ data is stored in their own device and not in centralized storage. 
  • In the Digi Yatra process, there is no central storage of passenger’s Personally Identifiable Information (PII) data. 
  • All the passengers’ data is encrypted and stored in the wallet of their smartphone. 
  • It is shared only between the passenger and the airport of travel origin, where the passenger’s Digi Yatra ID needs to be validated. 
  • The data is purged from the airport’s system within 24 hours of departure of flight. The data is shared by passengers directly, only when they travel and only to the origin Airport.

• December 2023

  • Passengers at several airports reported instances of CISF personnel and private airport staff enrolling them for Digi Yatra without their explicit consent or knowledge. Passengers felt misinformed and uncomfortable with their personal data being collected without their express permission.

• January 2024

• • Recently Ministry of Civil Aviation released a statement that Digi Yatra is purely voluntary for air passengers and personnel at airports have been directed to collect data for the application only with the consent of passenger