Unlike traditional methods that centralize personal information in a database, Digi Yatra uses a decentralized approach by storing data in passengers’ smartphones.
“In the Digi Yatra process, there is no central storage of passenger’s Personally Identifiable Information (PII) data. All the passengers’ data is encrypted and stored in the wallet of their smartphone. It is shared only between the passenger and the airport of travel origin, where passenger’s Digi Yatra ID needs to be validated. The data is purged from the airport’s system within 24 hours of departure of flight. The data is shared by passengers directly, only when they travel and only to the origin Airport,” Ministry of Civil Aviation stated.
The initiative aims to make air travel more seamless and less stressful for passengers by eliminating the need for physical documents like tickets and IDs. According to Digi Yatra, all passengers’ data is encrypted and stored in their smartphone wallets, making it impossible for anyone else to access it. The data is shared only with the airport of origin, where it needs to be validated to confirm a passenger’s Digi Yatra ID.
Additionally, the data is purged from the airport’s system within 24 hours of the flight’s departure. The process is voluntary and offers passengers the convenience of smooth and hassle-free travel.
On 15th March 2023, Minister of Civil Aviation and Steel, Shri Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, in a tweet said that the data is stored only in passengers’ smartphones, and no data is being collected or stored by the Digi Yatra Foundation. He also assured passengers that their personal data is secure and that no central repository is involved.
Digi Yatra is an initiative of Ministry of Civil Aviation for biometric boarding system using Facial Recognition Technology. Its main objective is to enhance passenger experience by eliminating the need for verification of ticket and ID at multiple touch points and to achieve better throughput through existing infrastructure using a Digital Framework.
It uses facial features to establish the identity of the traveller, which will be linked to the boarding pass. Simply put, any passenger can go through various checkpoints, including the security counter, at the airport via paperless and contactless processing, using facial features to establish identity.
A passenger needs to download the DigiYatra app to enjoy the benefits offered by the programme. Also, a passenger has to register his or her details on DigiYatra app using Aadhaar-based validation and a self image capture. In the next step, the boarding pass has to be scanned and the credentials are shared with the airport. The passenger has to first scan the bar-coded boarding pass and the facial recognition system installed at the airport’s e-gate. Once this process is done, the person can access the terminal building for check-in and security clearance without any paper documents.
