You may not need boarding passes to check in on flights anymore. Soon, many airports will do away with the boarding pass and passengers can get security clearance by simply looking into a camera. The airports will have automated facial recognition systems as part of the passenger boarding process.
The process, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Digi Yatra initiative, will be carried out at the four PPP metro airports including Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad. Earlier, the state-owned Airports Authority of India (AAI) chose three airports, including Varanasi, Vijayawada and Kolkata, to implement a biometric access system for the passenger boarding process. In June, it was reported that Varanasi airport will soon become the first airport to have an automated facial recognition system for the passenger boarding process.
“Automated walkthrough security scanners equipped with facial recognition technology are being installed at the airport’s entry, security and boarding points,” the airport director AK Rai was quoted as saying. The camera will scan the passenger’s face and verify his or her credentials and will give security clearance. This process will save time as there will be no need for the passenger to wait in the line at the security gate waiting for clearance.
The biometric access system project would be carried out on a pilot basis at the three airports.
The three airports were chosen under PM Modi’s Digi Yatra initiative wherein passengers’ Aadhaar details could be used for biometric-enabled boarding process. AAI’s chairman Guruprasad Mohapatra said the changing profile of air passengers in the country along with safety is a challenge and technology would play a big role in meeting such challenges.
While the full operational contours of such a system are still being worked out, once in place, the passengers can get entry using their biometrics for a seamless boarding process.
Under the Digi Yatra initiative, the civil aviation ministry plans to make boarding pass and security check-in digital. With the initiative, the idea is to securely identify travellers through Aadhaar number, passport or other documents
