Trial of “Digi Yatra” for international passengers starts at seven airports.

A new digital‑based travel system called ‘Digital Journey’ (डिजी यात्रा) has been piloted for Indian citizens and foreign travelers at seven major international airports. The initiative has been jointly developed by the Ministry of Civil Aviation of India and the Airport Authority of India (AAI), with the aim of reducing the need for paper documents during customs, immigration and security checks and making the entire process electronic and contact‑less. In this phase, the airports of Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Chennai and Kochi are included, where special digital kiosks, biometric scanners and mobile‑based identification systems have been installed.

Under ‘Digital Journey’, travelers will have to upload their passport, visa and health certificates into an integrated mobile application, which immigration officers will be able to verify in real‑time. Combined with biometric identification (fingerprint and facial recognition), the system speeds up customs clearance while also strengthening security standards. During the pilot, travelers will have the option to scan their QR code at a designated kiosk to complete all required checks, thereby reducing long queues and the problems associated with handling paper documents.

After monitoring the initial results, if the system receives sufficient positive feedback, there are plans to extend it to other major airports and domestic travel points. This step is aligned with the Digital India and Smart Border initiatives, whose goal is to make international travel more convenient, faster and safer. Industry experts believe that successful implementation will position India in global air travel