GMR Hyderabad International Airport here will roll out the digital processing of passengers through the facial recognition system as a proof of concept through the DigiYatra platform for three months to facilitate paperless travel and avoid multiple identity checks at the airport from August 18.
With DigiYatra, passengers will be automatically processed based on the facial recognition system at select checkpoints — one at the departure domestic entry gate 3, and another at the security hold area in the passenger terminal building. “This is purely voluntary, and the normal non-biometric process shall continue to function,” informed an official spokesperson on Tuesday.
The airport was the first in the country to do a trial of the face recognition in 2019 and is now one of the five airports selected to roll it out. An exclusive mobile app for the programme was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Independence Day, for enrolment into DigiYatra.
Passengers need to download this to enjoy the benefits offered by the programme. The beta version of the DigiYatra app is presently available on the Android Play Store. The same app will be available at App Store (for IOS platform) in a few weeks’ time.
How DigiYatra works
On downloading, open DY-ID App/Airline or OTA App/Airport App, enter Aadhaar/driving licence number for system authentication. Passengers will receive OTP on their registered mobile/email. Enter the OTP in the app DigiYatra which will extract e-KYC data from aadhar/DL database. Scan passport first page, Extract MRZ data, read e-Chip by NFC (optional). DigiYatra app will extract reference face from Aadhaar e-KYC/DL data/e-passport.
Passengers will have to take a selfie for the facial biometrics to be captured through the app. The face is validated through the DigiLocker portal and associated with authenticated face photograph. Passengers will then associate their DigiYatra IDs with their current or future flight bookings or boarding passes.
When the passenger scans the boarding pass or uploads the ticket, the travel data will be fetched by the app. DigiYatra app will share the encrypted passenger’s face and booking information to the airport, airline and Immigration (in case of International Travel) on the day of travel
Passenger flow at the airport
On entering E-Gate, bar-coded boarding pass is scanned and then the passenger looks into the Facial Recognition System (FRS) camera installed when the passenger’s ID and travel document are validated before the gate opens for the allowing the passenger inside.
Entry to Security Hold Area (SHA): Passenger arrives at the PreSHA, look into the FRS camera installed on e-gate, system validates passenger’s biometric template, system accept/reject the passenger and according to passenger move to SHA.
DigiYatra platform will not only help the passengers to navigate seamlessly through the airport using digital guidance systems but also get real-time notifications about congestion and delays to have greater visibility on the next step of the journey.
DigiYatra also enables the passengers to receive relevant information about various facilities, protocols, airline timings, and queue waiting times at the airport. In-flight services and destination-based offerings can also be booked digitally.
Apart from enhancing security with real-time biometrics, the boarding pass or e-ticket is validated with the airline system in real-time. “We are proud to be chosen as one of the airports for a proof of concept for Digi Yatra by the Government. GHIAL had earlier initiated face recognition trials successfully,” said Airport CEO Pradeep Panicker. “
GMR Airports chief innovation officer and executive director-south SGK Kishore explained about the several innovations like the “e- boarding” for domestic passengers and select international airlines, “express security check” facility and now the “Digiyatra”.
Passengers will no longer need to show their tickets/ boarding passes and their physical Identity cards at the checkpoints of the airport through this platform which in turn could reduced queues and faster processing times. The spokesperson sought to assure that the DigiYatra Mobile App is “safe” as the biometric details are stored on passenger’s mobile itself and will not be shared with anyone, said the press release.
