Delhi, Bengaluru, Varanasi airports allow entry of passengers using facial recognition tech, 4 more to follow

New Delhi: Three international airports of Delhi, Bengaluru and Varanasi on Thursday launched entry for passengers at airports based on Facial Recognition Technology (FRT), a move that is part of a mechanism called DigiYatra. The new mechanism is aimed at giving travellers a hassle-free air travel experience. Looking at ensuring seamless air-travel for passengers, initially those travelling on the domestic route, the project will ultimately permit travellers to pass through various checkpoints at the airports through paperless and contactless processing using only their facial features to establish their identity. Once their identity is established, it will be linked to the boarding pass. Civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia launched the Facial Recognition Technology system for domestic passengers at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) on Thursday. Besides Delhi, the DigiYatra mechanism has also been launched at Varanasi and Bangalore airports on the same day. In its first phase, the new project will be rolled out only for domestic fight passengers at a total of seven airports of the country, of which three airports began the process on Thursday. Hyderabad, Kolkata, Pune, and Vijayawada airports will start using the mechanism by March 2023. FRT would then be implemented across all airports of the country. The DigiYatra project is mulling ways of paperless entry for passengers at airports and the passenger data can be automatically processed based on a facial recognition system at various checkpoints, including at security check areas. For air passengers wanting to use this facility, a one-time registration on the Digi Yatra app is needed after verifying their Aadhaar number and uploading an image. The passenger’s ID and travel details are stored in a secure wallet on the passenger’s smartphone and nowhere else. The airport authorities and security have no provision for storing Personally Identifiable Information (PII) of passengers using the system. Read all the Latest News , Trending News , Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram .