DigiYatra (2022) - Transforming India’s Airport Experience With Biometric Boarding - IMPRI Impact And Policy Research Institute

Policy Update
Muskan Thakur

Background

DigiYatra was launched in 2022 by the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), Government of India. It was launched as part of its vision to modernise the aviation sector and enhance passenger convenience through digital-technology interventions. The scheme is built on the idea of paperless, contactless and seamless processing of air travellers through airports in India using the facial recognition technology (FRT).

The need for DigiYatra was felt from several factors, such as escalating passenger volumes (pre- and post-COVID), long queues at airport entry gates and security checks, and the need for more efficient passenger flow to support India’s ambition of becoming a global aviation hub.

The official policy document (Digi Yatra Policy) lays out its objectives which are to create a common identity management ecosystem (Digi Yatra ID Travel Credential), to enable face-biometric validation at airport entry and other check-points, and to progressively expand across Tier-1, Tier-2 and Tier-3 airports in India.

The timeline of the scheme:

July 2022: MoCA announced the scheme formally. The initial rollout was planned at two airports (Varanasi & Bengaluru) by August 2022, followed by five more (Pune, Vijayawada, Kolkata, Delhi, Hyderabad) by March in the next year.
December 2022: Formal launch of face-biometric boarding at some airports.

Beneficiaries include Domestic air passengers of Indian airports, airport operators, airlines, security agencies. The ecosystem also contemplates foreign citizens travelling through Indian airports (in the future phases).

Functioning

Process / Workflow

A passenger can download the Digi Yatra app (or use an airline/airport app incorporating the SDK) and initiate enrolment through ID proof (Aadhaar, Driver’s License, Passport) scanning and OTP verification.
The passenger takes a selfie with liveness detection; the system matches this live face with the reference face extracted from the ID proof. If successful, the Digi Yatra ID Travel Credential is created and stored securely in the smartphone wallet.
On the day of travel, the passenger uploads or scans their boarding pass / e-ticket and links it to the credential. At the airport entry gate, e-gates or biometric gates read the face, authenticate with the credential and allow access to the passenger.
For passengers who choose not to enrol ahead, there is a “day-of-travel” enrolment kiosk at the airport where face capture and ID check is done, followed by biometric gate access.
The policy emphasises “privacy by design”: the data is stored in the passenger’s smartphone wallet, communications are end-to-end encrypted, and biometric data is removed after predefined storage period.

Evaluation of Functioning: Issues & Challenges

While the functioning design is robust in terms of technological architecture, multiple challenges have emerged:

Adoption barrier: Every passenger may not be comfortable with installing the app, or may be uncomfortable with facial biometrics, or may not have readiness (smartphone, internet) especially in regional airports and among infrequent flyers.
Accuracy / false match concerns: As with any biometric system, face-matching errors (false accept, false reject) may cause exclusion or delays.
Privacy & data security: Even though the policy states data is securely stored and purged, civil society has raised concerns about large-scale biometric roll-out in absence of a comprehensive privacy law.
Infrastructure readiness across airports: Not all airports have the required e-gates, biometric kiosks, staffing/training, and integration with airlines/OTAs at the same pace-leading to uneven rollout and disruptive user experience.
Inclusion and opt-out mechanics: While enrolment is voluntary, practical alternatives for the un-enrolled must be smooth; else there will be risk of two-tier experience or confusion for passengers.
Cost & vendor dependency: The ecosystem involves APP/SDK, back-end system, biometric hardware, airport integration-uptime and operational reliability matter.

Hence, while the functioning blueprint is promising, the real-world operations reflect teething issues.

Performance

As of 10 February 2024: App downloads reached 45.8 lakh (4.58 million) users, up from 3.8 million on 1 January 2024 (increase of ≈ 20.5%) for Android + iOS. The DigiYatra app has over 50 lakh downloads on Android according to the Google Play Store.
Cumulative count of passengers who traveled using DigiYatra across airports by 11 Feb 2024: ~1.45 crore (14.5 million).
At 7 airports which are managed by Adani Airports Holdings Limited (AAHL) since August 2023: over 6.8 million DigiYatra transactions have been recorded.
As of July 2024: The initiative covers 28 airports, accounting for ~90% of India’s air travel volumes.

State/airport‐wise / rollout pace

Initial airports: Delhi (34.24 lakh by end 2023), Bengaluru (30.19 lakh), Varanasi (7.41 lakh) among others.
According to Times of India (July 2024): 14 airports are currently live, another 14 expected in the next two months; average ~70,000 passengers per day using DigiYatra nationally (~40% of domestic flyers at some airports-Pune ~40%) as of 2024.

The performance shows promising uptake in the first 2+ years: app installs in millions, tens of millions of transactions, coverage across a growing number of airports, and meaningful adoption rates (~40% in some airports). However, there remains a substantial share of flyers not yet using it, and rollout is uneven across airports/states.

Impact

Passenger experience: This initiative has led to streamlined processing, reduced queues, contactless entry and faster boarding.
Digital aviation ecosystem: Supports the “Digital India” initiative and creates a shared network across airports, airlines, and OTAs.
Inclusion and regional airports: Faster adoption has been seen at metro airports but slower progress at smaller airports like Kochi and Lucknow.
Security and governance: Biometric boarding has improved identity verification, less time is needed on manual checks, and the system has achieved privacy-by-design.
Industry outlook: A number of reviews (e.g., the SITA blog) note that DigiYatra is one of the main facilitators of a digital-first modern travel experience.

Emerging Issues

Some of the major problems that arise with the rollout are:

Absence of coherent adoption: Not all airports have caught up with infrastructure, training of staff, or their integration with the airlines resulting in haphazard coverage and perplexity to the passengers.
Digital divide: The passengers who lack smart phones, do not use apps, or do not have Aadhaar/ID are excluded or face inconvenience.
Privacy & data-governance issues: A number of stakeholders have raised their concerns regarding the storage of biometric data, consent, potential surveillance, and the lack of binding data-protection legislation.
Problems with operations: Biometric systems need to be very reliable. False matches, downtime or hardware failures may undermine experience and trust.
Cost/Maintenance: Hardware, program upgrades, kiosk maintenance, bandwidth/data-network requirements are all operational cost overheads in the airports, particularly in the smaller ones.
Change management: Airline employees, CISF security employees, airport employees should be trained on new workflows, and campaigns for awareness of passengers should be implemented.
Opt-in/opt-out transparency: Although the enrolment process can be voluntary, the airports are required to provide proper fallback to passengers who fail to enrol or are not in a position to enrol in order to avoid inequity.
Inter-operability and scalability in the future: The system may expand to international boarding, multi-modal travel, linking with other digital IDs, so ensuring future-proof architecture is essential.

Way Forward

Enhance Data Governance and Privacy Systems.

Develop an effective and transparent data-governance policy addressing biometric retention, deletion schedules, auditing processes, and access controls by a third-party.
Public periodic privacy-impact assessments and independent audits to increase the level of trust among the population.
Make sure that it complies with the new provisions on data-protection in India and international best practices particularly with the expansion of biometric travel.

Facilitate Accessibility by all the passengers.

Have a fully operational hassle free back-up to passengers who do not or cannot use DigiYatra (elderly, persons with disabilities, non-smartphone users).
Enhance passenger awareness- use of multilingual guides, use of kiosk and organizing demonstrations at the airports.
Increase the variety of enrolment via the app, such as assisted enrolment points and streamlined enrolment procedures to first time flyers.

Enhance Infrastructure, Reliability and Airport Preparedness.

Offer assistance to Tier-2 and Tier-3 airports in the purchase of biometric gates, kiosks, and backend systems so that the entire country could roll out the same.
Enhances uptime guarantees, redundancy tools, and software and hardware reliability accountability by the supplier.
Train employees of the airports, CISF, and airline on a regular basis to facilitate the smooth working on the ground.

Increase Inter-operability and Future Scalability.

Establish a long-term roadmap of unionizing DigiYatra with international boarding, immigration, and multi-modal travel (air-rail-metro).
Have an open and scalable architecture to enable future integration with digital wallets, travel applications, and airline systems.
Standardisation at all the airports should be encouraged to prevent fragmented experiences.

Make Things More Transparent with Public Dashboards and Reporting.

Develop a national DigiYatra performance dashboard that indicates airport adoption, volume adoption and biometric matches and grievance redresses.
Issue monthly reports on performance and promote gains or systemic problems, which will allow accountability and implement changes in policy.

Improve Passenger Experience by Use of Continuous Feedback.

Passenger feedback loops should be institutionalised, by use of in-app survey, airport kiosk and third-party evaluations.
Overcome problems related to false rejections, application malfunctions, enrolment bugs, and connection problems.
Think of incentives to induce DigiYatra users in busy airports to adopt them but at the same time ensure that it is not unfairly rewarded compared to those who do not use it.

Incentives Policy and Financing of Airports and Airlines.

Provide financial support, viability-gap funding, or shared infrastructure paradigms to smaller airports to onboard DigiYatra.
Request airlines to market DigiYatra at check-in and boarding pass issuance as well as in communication with the customers.

References

Ministry of Civil Aviation. (2022, July 18). Press Release: Consultative Committee meeting of Ministry of Civil Aviation discusses ‘Digi Yatra’. Press Information Bureau. https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetailm.aspx?PRID=1842408 Press Information Bureau
Ministry of Civil Aviation. (2023, July). Digi Yatra Policy (Biometric based digital processing of passengers at airports). https://civilaviation.gov.in/sites/default/files/2023-07/Digi%20Yatra%20Policy%20(DIGI%20YATRA).pdf Ministry of Civil Aviation+1
Press Information Bureau. (2024, Feb 21). Digi Yatra app users number crosses 45.8 lakhs; number of passengers travelled using DigiYatra reaches 1.45 crore. https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=2007679 Press Information Bureau
Drishti IAS. (2024). Daily News & Analysis: Digi Yatra. https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/digiyatra Drishti IAS
SITA. (2023, July 10). India’s critical technology path to capitalise on its aviation boom: Digi Yatra. https://www.sita.aero/pressroom/blog/indias-critical-technology-path-to-capitalise-on-its-aviation-boom/ sita.aero
Valour Consultancy. (2025, July 30). How Digi Yatra is reshaping air travel in India, one face at a time. https://valourconsultancy.com/how-digiyatra-is-reshaping-air-travel-in-india-one-face-at-a-time/ Valour Consultancy
International Airport Review. (2025, March 13). Seven Adani Airports reach over 6.8 million Digi Yatra transactions since launch in August 2023. https://www.internationalairportreview.com/news/257149/seven-adani-airports-reach-over-6-8-million-digiyatra-transactions-since-launch-in-august-2023/ International Airport Review+1
Vikaspedia. (n.d.). Digi Yatra Policy. https://egovernance.vikaspedia.in/viewcontent/e-governance/online-citizen-services/government-to-citizen-services-g2c/transport-related-services/digi-yatra-policy?lgn=en Vikaspedia E-Governance

About the contributor

Muskan Thakur is a Research Intern at IMPRI and a Master’s student in Economics at Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, Pune.

Acknowledgement: The author extends her sincere gratitude to the IMPRI team and Ms. Aasthaba Jadeja for her invaluable guidance throughout the process.

Disclaimer: All views expressed in the article belong solely to the author and not necessarily to the organisation.