Digi Yatra is a digital initiative launched by the Government of India's Ministry of Civil Aviation in order to enhance the air travel experience for passengers. Digi Yatra employs Facial Recognition Technology for biometric boarding, offering passengers a smooth and effortless experience at airports. In addition, the system streamlines the process by eliminating the need for multiple ticket and ID verifications and optimizes existing infrastructure with its Digital Framework for faster throughput. This results in an enhanced overall passenger experience.
Also Read: DigiYatra App Goes Beta; Successfully Launched at Bengaluru Airport
The implementation of Digi Yatra is being rolled out in phases across various airports. Phase I saw the launch of the program by the Hon'ble Minister of Civil Aviation, Shri Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, on December 01, 2022, at Delhi, Bengaluru, and Varanasi Airports.
In Varanasi, the number of Digi Yatra users has increased from 0.09% of total passengers on December 01, 2022, to 28% of total passengers on February 13 2023, with the highest of 37% of total users on February 02.
By March 2023, Digi Yatra is also planned to be implemented at Kolkata, Pune, Vijayawada, and Hyderabad Airports under the same phase.
Also Read: Kolkata, Pune, Vijayawada and Hyderabad Airports to Implement Digi Yatra by March 2023
Digi Yatra is a Voluntary Facility
Digi Yatra is a voluntary facility. The program's process does not involve centralized storage of Personally Identifiable Information data of passengers. Instead, all passenger data is encrypted and stored in their smartphone wallet. The data is only shared for a limited time duration with the airport of origin, where the passenger's Digi Yatra ID is validated. The data is purged from the system within 24 hours after the flight.
Growth of Digi Yatra
There has been steady growth in the number of passengers using Digi Yatra. For example, between December 01, 2022, and February 14, 2023, over 1.6 Lakh passengers utilized the Digi Yatra process at airports. Furthermore, the Digi Yatra app has amassed a user base of over 422,000 on both the Android Play Store and iOS Apple App Store.