Starting November 2026, seven Indian airports are conducting international biometric trials under the Digi Yatra program. Airports involved include Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Cochin, Mumbai, Chennai, and Amritsar. The initiative covers selected international flights operated by Air India and IndiGo. The trial period will extend through December 2026.
Digi Yatra Registration and Passenger Eligibility
The trials are available to eligible Indian nationals holding valid electronic passports (e-passports). Passengers interested in participating must use a smartphone with Near Field Communication (NFC) capabilities to register via the Digi Yatra mobile app. The registration involves scanning the Machine Readable Zone (MRZ) of the e-passport and completing a biometric facial verification
by taking a selfie. Upon successful verification, a Verifiable Credential (VC) linked to the e-passport is stored in the Digi Yatra wallet on the passenger’s device.
Trial Operations Within Participating Airports
The biometric verification will be available at three key airport touchpoints: check-in counters following document verification, Security Hold Areas, and boarding gates. IndiGo facilitates this process by uploading passengers’ boarding passes to the Digi Yatra app after mandatory document checks at the airline check-in. Eligible passengers then use biometric face authentication to proceed through security and boarding processes. The program supplements but does not replace physical passports, boarding passes, or existing airline and immigration
procedures.
Ministry of Civil Aviation’s Role and Trial Objectives
The Ministry of Civil Aviation is collecting passenger feedback during the November to December 2026 trial period. This data will inform plans for a broader international rollout of Digi Yatra biometric processing in 2027. The trials aim to assess the technology’s performance across varied airport environments and evaluate infrastructure requirements necessary for expansion. The Ministry emphasizes the program’s compliance with passenger consent, privacy, and data protection throughout the process.
Digi Yatra’s Domestic Expansion and Global Interoperability
Before the international trials, Digi Yatra had over 26.5 million registered users and facilitated more than 110 million passenger journeys across 39 domestic airports. The government plans to add 25
more domestic airports to the network by 2027. The international extension of Digi Yatra also aims to ensure compatibility with global frameworks such as IATA’s One ID and ICAO’s Public Key Directory. This interoperability seeks to enable secure, streamlined passenger identification for seamless international air travel.
Industry Perspectives on Biometric Travel Technology
Industry leaders view the Digi Yatra international trials as a critical step to enhance passenger experience through biometric identity technology. The CEO of Digi Yatra Foundation describes the trials as expanding seamless digital identity verification to Indian nationals traveling internationally. IndiGo’s Chief Digital and Information Officer considers biometric and digital identity innovations key to
making air travel more efficient and customer-oriented. Both emphasize the role of technology in supporting security and operational efficiency across airports.
