The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the regulatory body for civil aviation in India, has issued rules for an e-boarding process called ‘digi yatra’. Reports say that the digi yatra initiative has been undertaken by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) and Ministry of Civil Aviation to implement the e-boarding process across airports, helping to minimise paperwork.
DGCA has issued the Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR) underlining the procedures and requirements to enable the service. All passengers can provide any approved identification document (ID) such as passport, voter card, and driving licence for the e-boarding process.
They will need to generate a digi yatra ID, which will be authenticated during the first air travel at an airport equipped with e-boarding facilities.
An authorised security officer will verify the ID of the passenger to activate the digi yatra ID during the authentication process. The respective airline will issue e-tickets with a 2D/QR barcode complying with the ‘one person, one ticket and one code’ rule. This means that every passenger is issued an individual ticket with a unique code, even in the case of group bookings. International travels will still be required to show their passports during check-ins and immigration.
It is also reported that the existing system of procuring paper tickets by showing ID proofs will also continue at the airports. In the future, passengers will be able to book tickets by providing the digi yatra ID and complete the boarding process at the smart airports through biometric-based verification.
