Chennai airport begins Digi Yatra trials for international passengers
Indian e-passport holders can now use facial recognition for terminal entry and boarding during trial runs at Chennai airport.
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has started trials to extend the Digi Yatra facility to international passengers at Chennai airport. According to reports from The Hindu and The New Indian Express, the trials began on November 1 and will continue until December 31.
The facility uses facial recognition technology to allow Indian nationals with e-passports to move through terminal entry, security checks, and boarding gates. Currently, the trials include select international routes operated by IndiGo, such as Chennai-Dubai and Chennai-Colombo, as well as some Air India flights.
To use the service, eligible passengers must create a Verifiable Credential on the Digi Yatra mobile application. This process requires scanning the Machine Readable Zone of the e-passport, using a smartphone's Near Field Communication feature to read the embedded chip, and capturing a selfie for verification.
The Civil Aviation Ministry stated that the facility is intended to complement rather than replace existing travel processes. Passengers must still carry their travel documents and complete all mandatory immigration and airline document checks.
Chennai is one of seven airports conducting these trials, alongside Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Cochin, Mumbai, and Amritsar. Feedback from this period will be used to plan a wider rollout of the technology in 2027.
At the airport, staff members called 'Digibuddies' have been deployed to assist passengers with the registration process and guide them through the designated touchpoints.