Mumbai: Soon, Indian air travellers might be able to seamlessly pass through various airport touchpoints without any contact during their international flights as Digi Yatra commenced its international passenger trials. Being held across seven Indian airports, the trials mark a significant step in extending its digital passenger facilitation platform beyond domestic air travel.
Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru Among Airports Selected For International Trials
Digital Yatra, India's decentralised digital identity platform and a self-sovereign identity (SSI)-based ecosystem for contactless and seamless passenger processing at airports, has been used by 26.5 million flyers across 39 domestic airports. However, the facility might soon be expanded for international passengers as well with the commencement of trials at Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Cochin, Mumbai, Chennai and Amritsar airports.
According to Digi Yatra, the trials will run through December and will enable Indian nationals holding e-passports and travelling on international flights operated by Air India and IndiGo to use Digi Yatra at designated airports and airport touchpoints. The facility could be accessed at terminal entry, security hold area and boarding gates. The BETA programme is currently underway, with the trials scheduled to go live from November.
How To Use Digi Yatra For International Flights With An E-Passport
To access the service, eligible Indian nationals with e-passports can create an e-passport-based Verifiable Credential (VC) through the Digi Yatra app. The process involves scanning the e-passport's machine readable zone, reading the embedded chip using a compatible smartphone's NFC capability, capturing a selfie and verifying the details. Once created, the credential is stored in the passenger's Digi Yatra wallet on their device and can be used at enabled airport touchpoints during the trials. Passengers will be required to carry their travel documents and complete mandatory airline doc-checks, immigration and other travel formalities as usual.
Digi Yatra Foundation's CEO, Suresh Khadakbhavi, said, “With the start of international passenger trials, we are taking an important step towards extending this experience to eligible Indian nationals travelling internationally. Interoperability with global frameworks such as IATA’s One ID and ICAO’s Public Key Directory will be an important part of this journey, helping explore how e-passport-based digital credentials can enable more seamless and secure passenger journeys across borders, while keeping passenger consent, privacy and security central to the experience.”
Alongside the international passenger trial, Digi Yatra also introduced a redesigned mobile application with a cleaner interface, improved boarding pass display featuring airline-mapped colours, intuitive navigation and a more structured credential wallet. The update also introduces clearer indicators for guardian and minor credentials and a redesigned consent screen to help users better understand what information is shared, with whom and for what purpose.
Notably, the platform has enabled over 110 million journeys and serves 11 domestic airlines, with an average airport adoption level of approximately 30%. It plans to cover another 25 airports and all 22 scheduled Indian languages by 2027.
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