‘Face as passport’: Bengaluru airport trials paperless biometric travel system | All you need to know

Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport is introducing a fully contactless travel system using biometric technology and face recognition system.

Imagine travelling abroad without repeatedly pulling out your passport or boarding pass. That’s exactly what IndiGo, along with Digi Yatra, Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport (BIAL) and global aviation body IATA, is working towards. In a first for India, the partners have successfully run technical trials of a fully contactless international travel system at Bengaluru airport.

Imagine traveling the world without the hassle of pulling out your passport. Bengaluru's Kempegowda International Airport might be one of the first airports in India to introduce a paperless travel system. (PTI)

The trial covered the entire passenger journey, from booking tickets and managing travel plans to moving through the airport, using biometric technology only. Instead of physical documents, passengers were identified through a secure digital identity linked to their face. This allowed them to cross checkpoints like entry, security and boarding without manual verification at every step, said a joint press release.

So how does this work?

At the core of this system is a privacy-focused digital identity setup, where passengers control their data and share it only when needed. The technology uses what’s called a Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI) framework, meaning your identity is stored securely and verified instantly across systems. It also connects airline apps and airport systems, so your boarding pass and details can be shared automatically without repeated uploads.

This builds on the Digi Yatra system already used for domestic travel in India, but takes it a step further by testing it for international journeys. The project is part of IATA’s global effort to create “contactless travel” standards across countries, so that passengers can move smoothly between airports worldwide using the same digital identity, the release stated.

For airports like Bengaluru, which are seeing rapidly growing international traffic, this could be a game-changer. The initiative would also help reduce queues, cut waiting times and make travel less stressful.

If implemented in a larger scale successfully, we could be looking at a future where travel, both domestic and international, is faster, simpler and almost completely paperless.