TravTalk India Online Magazine
Digi Yatra Foundation is working on a pilot scheme for the creation of electronic passport-based credentials. The foundation is also working on rolling out Digi Yatra at 17 more airports across India, as well as using the app for border-crossing.
Hazel Jain
From being one extra step for passengers between booking and boarding to being a means for smart travel, Digi Yatra app has become India’s pride. The facility is being extended to more and more airports, including all the new airports like the Navi Mumbai International Airport and Jewar Airport. Sharing details on the Digi Yatra app progress, Suresh Khadakbhavi, CEO, Digi Yatra Foundation, said, “We are currently at 24 airports and will add four more airports in the next month and another 13 airports in the next three to six months. That will take the total to 40 airports across India, which will also cover tier I and tier II city airports.”
Meanwhile, more exciting news is brewing. Khadakbhavi’s team is already working on a pilot scheme for the creation of electronic passport-based credentials. “It’s under User Acceptance Testing (UAT), which is the final phase of software testing where real users test the software. After that, there are certain contractual obligations and documents to be signed. We should then be able to have a process where anyone with an electronic passport (e-passport) can enrol into Digi Yatra.”
Digi Yatra also aims to conduct an international pilot project, enabling foreign passengers with e-passports to experience its seamless ecosystem. “Border crossing is a sensitive topic. Therefore, we first need to align with various stakeholders, like the immigration authorities, and ensure that it is acceptable to all stakeholders. Once the electronic passport-based enrolment starts, the first step would be to make it available for international passengers flying domestic routes,” he says.
AI in aviation
Khadakbhavi believes that AI has huge potential in aviation, especially in terms of increasing efficiency, enhancing passenger experience and reducing operating costs. “With all the information that is possible with all the predictive tools that can be done using AI, I do believe airports will become much more efficient – not only in terms of landside operations and terminal operations, but also airside operations. We are just at the beginning of this journey; there is a lot to be done.”
As of today, users need their Aadhaar card to use Digi Yatra app. So, non-Indian passport holders cannot use it since it does not allow passport scan. Khadakbhavi says, “Our efforts, including the ‘d-KYC’ campaign initiative, helped us drive growth in 2024. Our partnership with IATA for the IATA One-ID and Digi Yatra for enablement of Digi Yatra for international flow will drive further growth in 2025.”
In time, the platform intends to support all 22 official Indian languages.
