Passengers departing from Mumbai airport will soon be able to breeze through the pre-boarding process, with authorities planning to introduce the digital boarding card soon. A similar system is already in place at many airports across the US and Europe.
This is in addition to the recent introduction of an application which serves as a Google map for Terminal 2, so that passengers can navigate real time position and directions to services and facilities at the city's Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA).
An airport official at CSIA said: "At present, airlines in India do provide digital boarding passes. But the passenger still needs to get a printout of it, in order to clear the baggage and security procedures as it has to be stamped." The airport authorities are presently getting final clearances from the regulatory bodies, for the introduction of digital boarding card, sources claim.
Once introduced, passengers will get a bar code in their mail, which will then be assessed during baggage, immigration and security checking process. "The passenger will no longer need to stand in queue to get the hard copy of the boarding pass from the airline desk. The bar code will just needed to be scanned," added the official.
Further, passengers can get all relevant and personlized updates for check-in alerts, baggage allowance, flight status alerts, airport information, duty free shops and lounges, etc, by loading an application and feeding their travelling information.
"For example, passengers can get real time information about ways to reach the washroom or lounge area, and even the walk time between the two places, providing enhanced travel experience," said Seshadri Krishnan, co-founder of Trip38, the mobile application company which has tied up with CSIA.
The application has also aggregated information about restaurants, hotels, sightseeing, local events, local weather, discounts and offers from hotels and shops, embassy/consulate information, etc.
CSIA, which is considered among the busiest airports in the Indian subcontinent, has the capacity of more than 40 million passengers annually. Though the airport has won accolades for its architecture and functionality, from the passengers and others across the world after T2 was opened for operation earlier this year, the long queues and slow processes is being criticised till date, despite several efforts by the airport operator.
Avinash Shah, a frequent traveller, seems to be excited by the development. He said: "It's good that airport authorities are doing away with unnecessary procedures, and make travelling slightly less stressful."
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