Understanding Digi Yatra: How It Works and Its Advantages

Understanding Digi Yatra: How it Works and Its Benefits

Introduced by the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Digi Yatra Foundation, Digi Yatra is a newly launched initiative in India. This initiative uses facial verification technology to make the airport's security clearances and terminal entry process hassle-free, smooth, and electronic. Some may be concerned that their personal information will not be secure after they share it with the Digi Yatra app. But you are not required to worry about it at all, as privacy and security are the central missions of the initiative. It uses technology, including Sel-Sovereign Identity, Decentralised Identifiers, Verifiable Credentials, and Distributed Ledger, that ensures all the data remains fully secure and under your control. Even after the flight departs, your personal information is automatically deleted.

Benefits Of Using Digi Yatra

Though you have been informed about the various details of the Digi Yatra App, you must also be curious about the advantages that attract the Indian government and the number of passengers who use it at an excessive rate. Moreover, it is said to be the future of air travel; thus, it is essential to have accomplished knowledge about it, including its benefits, which can be seen as follows:

• Digi Yatra is an eco-friendly initiative that reduces the use of paper by making the boarding process paperless. 
• It even relieves some of the burden on the airport authorities, as they are not required to manage the tons of paper during check-in.
• Passengers are not required to present their boarding passes and IDs at every check-in point, making travellers’ check-in process more effortless and smooth. 
• The complete check-in process is quicker and less time-consuming as fewer humans are involved and technology is used more and more. 
• With Digi Yatra's help, only legitimate passengers can enter the airport, reducing the number of scammers.
• The airport authority will have real-time access to passenger volume information, assisting it in unforeseen crises.   

Which Airports support Digi Yatra?

Launched in December 2022, Digi Yatra was launched and is still being introduced at various airports in India in a phased manner. However, currently, the service is available at the country's 24 airports, including: 

• Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi
• Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport, Varanasi
• Kempe Gowda International Airport, Bengaluru
• Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport, Lucknow
• Netaji Subhash Chandra International Airport, Kolkata
• Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Hyderabad
• Bagdogra Airport, Bagdogra
• Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, Mumbai
• Pune International Airport, Pune
• Vijayawada International Airport, Vijayawada
• Cochin International Airport, Kochi
• Visakhapatnam Airport, Vishakhapatnam
• Sardar Vallabhai Patel International Airport, Ahmedabad
• Jaipur International Airport, Jaipur
• Lokpriya Gopinath Bardoloi International Airport, Guwahati
• Chennai International Airport, Chennai
• Manohar International Airport, Goa
• Coimbatore International Airport, Coimbatore
• Dabolim Airport, Goa
• Biju Patnaik International Airport, Bhubaneswar 
• Devi Ahiliya Bai Holkar Airport, Indore
• Jay Prakash Narayan International Airport, Patna
• Birsa Munda Airport, Ranchi
• Swami Vivekananda International Airport, Raipur

How to register for Digi Yatra?

Digi Yatra is considered to be the future of air travel. It helps by reducing the waiting time at boarding gates, making the boarding process faster and smoother. However, you have to register yourself before using its availing benefits, which can be seen as follows:

• You can download the Digi Yatra App via the Play Store or App Store.
• Register with the app using your Aadhaar-linked mobile number and OTP.
• Using Aadhaar or DigiLocker, you can link your identity credentials
• Afterward, when prompted, you have to take a selfie and upload it to the app. 
• You must update your Boarding Pass on the app and share it with the departure airport.

Note: You must ensure that the names on the flight ticket, boarding pass, and Aadhaar are the same. 

What is the issue with Digi Yatra?

Though this seems to be accurate for a simple and trouble-free boarding experience, there are still some issues that various passengers encounter and thus can concern you from the core of your heart during your boarding experience, including: 

• Difficulty in uploading boarding pass or the app not reading the QR code
• It excludes passengers who are not familiar with using the technology or who are not comfortable with facial recognition technology. 
• The Digi Yatra process isn't very transparent, which leads to various concerns, such as accountability. 
• Concerns about the system's security and potential data breaches have also been raised. 

Note: Though the Government of India emphasises the various benefits of the Digi Yatra App, these issues must first be addressed to create a trustworthy environment for all passengers. 

Is Digi Yatra mandatory?

No, Digi Yatra is not mandatory for Indian airports, which the Ministry of Civil Aviation also informed, as part of the constitutional right to information in response to an application filled out in August 2023 by the Internet Freedom Foundation that "Digi Yatra gates exist in airports for passengers who voluntarily choose to use this facility. Digi Yatra is not mandatory. The other manual e-gates continue to be available for passengers.