E-tokens will ease check-in rush at Delhi airport
More than 100 people were caught at the IGIA last year for entering the terminal using edited, cancelled or fake tickets.
Hoping to shorten queues at the airline check-in counters, the Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) will soon launch the ‘Digi Yatra’ initiative as part of which flyers will be issued “e-tokens”, which will act as boarding passes and allow them to go directly for security checks.
These e-tokens, which will have a validity, ranging from one month to three months. According to the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), the facility can be expected at the Delhi airport in the next five to six months. The initiative is being implemented by the ministry of civil aviation.
Officials said the facility will be available through a mobile application, which is yet to be launched.
“Flyers will have to register on the app and get themselves an ID. We will get the passenger details through the app. Once the passenger arrives at the airport, a smart face recognition camera will scan his/her face and his/her information will be matched with the information available from the airline. Once the basic information such as the name, phone number and ticket number are matched, an e-token will be issued,” a Central Industrial Security Force officer, who did not wish to be named, said.
The officer said the token will give the passenger access into the terminal building and (s)he can directly head to the security check area.
If (s)he wants to drop checked-in baggage, (s)he can go to the baggage drop area. The entire process is expected to take not more than 10-15 seconds per passenger, the officer said.
“The facility will be best suited for frequent flyers. Passengers who have created the Digi Yatra ID will have to undergo a one-time facial verification at the departure terminal during his/her first travel and the token generated will be valid from anywhere between one month and three months. The validity duration will be decided by the ministry of civil aviation,” the officer said.
Director general of the Central Industrial Security Force Rajesh Ranjan said the technology aims to reduce passengers’ waiting time at airports. “We also hope that it will lead to a reduction in manpower at the counters and the terminal gates,” he said.
The facility will gradually be extended to all airports in the country. The technology will also help the CISF to control the menace of passengers gaining entry on fake or edited tickets to see off relatives.
More than 100 people were caught at the IGIA last year for entering the terminal using edited, cancelled or fake tickets.