Hyderabad Airport Becomes India's First To Introduce Facial Recognition For Passengers

There are certain things that are important and to be kept in mind before boarding a flight. Like carrying your passport if you are travelling abroad, carrying a valid ID and of course, a boarding pass. If you do not web-check-in for a flight, chances are you will find a long cue at the check-in counter at the airport. But what if we tell you that you don¡¯t need a boarding pass now?

This is not a random idea pulled out of a sci-fi movie, this will soon be a reality at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Hyderabad. The airport becomes the first in the country to introduce a facial recognition system under the ¡®Digi Yatra¡¯ initiative, where you can apply for a Digi Yatra ID and then a camera verifies your face and lets you pass through security checks without showing any boarding pass.

The initiative seeks to promote paperless and hassle-free air travel. There will be a one-time verification at the departure airport while travelling for the first time using the ID. After successful verification, facial recognition biometric will be captured and stored in the Digi Yatra ID.

The airport also ran a trial run from 1-3 July where the facility was made available to people travelling to Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Vizag and Vijayawada. Earlier it was tested on passengers at the airport entry points.

An airport official told the Times Of India, ¡°As many as 180 passengers voluntarily signed up for FR [facial recognition], though 70% used it on Day 1. The numbers are certain to increase.¡±

¡°This will eventually be extended to all domestic fliers. It will not only make the process of boarding smoother but also help them save time. At present, CISF staff spend at least half a minute on physically checking every passenger¡¯s ID card."

"If the pilot is successful, it will be used for security checks as well. Instead of displaying the boarding pass, passengers can just look into the camera to ascertain their credentials. If found genuine, the system will automatically clear their passage towards boarding,¡± he added.

Reuters TV

While people are obviously praising this brilliant move which saves both time and paper, there are a few concerns with respect to privacy and leaking of data

Soon E-Passports will also be issued to people in India. The government announced that it is working on a centralised passport system in which all the passport services will be provided from Indian embassies across the world.

"Indian embassies and consulates are being connected to the Passport Seva Project worldwide," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on January 22 while addressing the inaugural ceremony of Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) 2019 in Varanasi.

Indiatimes

The Prime Minister also announced that the government is working on the visa issuing policy, to simplify it for PoI (Person of India) and OCI (Overseas Citizen of India). He also added that the government is working on this policy to see that Indians are happy and safe wherever they live across the globe.