All about Digi Yatra, facial recognition-based entry at airports launching today

For a seamless and hassle-free air travel experience, India is set to launch a mechanism called Digi Yatra today. Digi Yatra is conceived to achieve contactless, seamless processing of passengers at airports based on Facial Recognition Technology (FRT).

The project basically envisages that travelers may pass through various checkpoints at the airports through paperless and contactless processing using facial features to establish their identity which could be linked to the boarding pass.

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In the first phase, it will be launched at seven airports. Today, it will be initially launched at three airports -- Delhi, Bengaluru, and Varanasi followed by four airports namely Hyderabad, Kolkata, Pune, and Vijayawada by March 2023. 

Subsequently, the technology would be implemented across the country. 

Notably, it is presently being launched for domestic flight passengers. To use this facility, a one-time registration on the Digi Yatra app is required using Aadhar-based validation and a self-image capture. There is no central storage of Personally Identifiable Information (PII). 

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The passenger's ID and travel credentials are stored in a secure wallet on the passenger's smartphone itself.