KOCHI: Making travel more convenient for passengers, Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) will begin the DigiYatra facility at the airport starting Tuesday. CIAL has been running the paperless entry with a face recognition facility as a trial with limited airlines since February 2023.
“Starting Tuesday, the DigiYatra facility will be operational at Kochi airport. Passengers using DigiYatra can clear the security check-in at one go. The software was developed by CIAL’s IT department,” said a CIAL official. CIAL has already started DigiYatra facilities for passengers with Air India, Air Asia, and Vistara airlines. From August 15, all passengers having the app can utilise the service,” the official added.
On Friday, the Centre notified that the DigiYatra facility will be launched at six more airports, including Mumbai and Kochi, in August. The facility is available at seven airports, including, Delhi, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad.
“DigiYatra has helped save a lot of time at airports. Delhi Airport has long lines everywhere, right from security check-in to the boarding gate. However, DigiYatra App has made things easier with priority check-in and no more waiting in long queues wasting time,” said Shilpa Raj, who recently travelled from Delhi to Kochi.
According to the Civil Aviation Ministry, airports in Mumbai, Kochi, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Lucknow, and Guwahati are set to launch the digital service, which will be installed in a phased manner.
With facial recognition technology, passengers can have contactless, seamless movement at various checkpoints at airports. The system will facilitate passengers’ entry to the terminal by showing their bar-coded boarding pass at the kiosks.
Passengers will be automatically scanned based on the facial recognition system at checkpoints like entry-point checks, entry-to-security checks, and aircraft boarding. It will also facilitate self-bag drop and check-in, using facial recognition to identify passengers and data recall.
HASSLE-FREE ENTRY