India to pilot facial-recognition Digi Yatra for outbound flights at major airports
The government will trial the Digi Yatra facial-recognition system for international departures at Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Cochin between October and December.
Between October and December, the government plans to test Digi Yatra, a facial-recognition platform currently used for domestic travel, at five major Indian airports for outbound flights. The first phase will focus on less sensitive areas such as terminal entry, security screening and possibly boarding gates, leaving immigration procedures untouched for now. Passengers with electronic passports will scan the document’s chip via NFC, match the stored photo with a selfie, and store the resulting credential on their phones.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation is upgrading the app, with MeitY overseeing an audit and CERT-In and STQC conducting vulnerability assessments. Digi Yatra CEO Suresh Khadakbhavi said discussions are ongoing with IATA, ICAO and European pilots to enable cross-border interoperability in the future. Integration with e-gates and full immigration linkage is expected to follow after the trial phase.
Why it matters
The trial could streamline international travel for millions of Indians, reducing queues and paving the way for global biometric airport integration.
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