12 more airports ready to implement DigiYatra facility: Civil Aviation minister

12 more airports ready to implement DigiYatra facility: Civil Aviation minister

Twelve more airports are ready to implement DigiYatra facility that will provide passengers seamless and contactless movement at various checkpoints through facial recognition system, Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu said on Thursday.

Currently, the DigiYatra facility is available at 15 airports of the country.

Naidu told the Lok Sabha that 12 more airports are ready to implement DigiYatra, while 11 airports are preparing to have the facility.

Responding to supplementaries during the Question Hour, the minister emphasised that the passenger data shared through DigiYatra App is not stored in any centralised system, saying the government is committed to protecting data privacy.

While the DigiYatra app is slowly gaining traction, there have been concerns expressed in various quarters about privacy of passenger data.

"The app facilitates the passengers to enroll their verifiable credentials using Aadhaar card number and to keep their personal information on their smartphones to ensure data privacy," the minister said.

Based on Facial Recognition Technology (FRT), DigiYatra provides for contactless, seamless movement of passengers at various checkpoints at airports in India.

DigiYatra app has been downloaded by more than 43 lakh users, Naidu said, adding the scaling up of the facility will be done in a phased manner.