Suresh Khadakbhavi, CEO, Digi Yatra Foundation has named Chennai Airport as one of the 14 airports to implement Digi Yatra next month in June.

At the Future Aviation Forum in Saudi Arabia, Khadakbhavi reportedly shared:

“DigiYatra has seen impressive adoption and expansion over the last year, with more than 20 million users experiencing the benefits of this seamless travel solution. Currently rolled out in 14 airports, DigiYatra is set to be introduced in 14 more airports next month […] Our focus is now expanding to international travel, starting with prototype testing on e-passport-based enrolment, expected next month. There will be numerous deliberations that need to be done with various ministries and other stakeholders, which might take some time to conclude on the way forward.”

The initiative led by the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India uses a single token of facial biometrics to verify travellers identities, facilitating seamless travel through the airport. Since 2022, domestic passengers at several Indian airports, including New Delhi and Bengaluru, have been leveraging this technology to streamline their journey. However, Khadakbhavi’s announcement signals a new period of innovation as this initiative looks to cater to international travel.

Digi Yatra, while extensive, has come with a string of challenges, the latest being allegations of a data breach and has raised questions regarding the privacy of passenger data. The Digi Yatra Foundation confirmed only relevant data is shared with the airport verifier and the biometric data will only be retained by the airport for 24 hours post departure of flight. It also reiterated that the biometric data (or any other Personally Identifiable Information) is stored locally within passengers’ secure wallet and not stored in any central repository or database. However, the wide ranging initiative still provokes questions regarding the balance between convenience and privacy when it comes to travel.

 

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