CIOInsider India Magazine

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented disruption for the aviation and travel industries. However, as the world moves from pandemic to endemic, signs of traffic recovery are encouraging and expected to continue. Besides the existing and potential future mutations of the COVID-19 virus, the world, in general, is on a much stronger footing on the path to recovery thanks to global vaccination efforts, which have allowed borders to re-open and for the international travel markets to return.

India is on the path to achieving 220 airports by 2025 and 80 airports in the next three years by addressing sustainability with digitization. The fluctuating climate has made airports reconsider the future of aviation. Our Prime Minister's announcement of achieving net zero by 2070 at COP26 digitization and energy management is sowing the seeds of sustainability for the aviation industry. By following the government’s vision towards sustainable and world-class airports.

For example, Schneider Electrical has launched EcoStruxure for airports. It's an end-to-end digital solution across the entire infrastructure value chain that helps in future-ready and energy-efficient airports through an IoT-enabled platform. EcoStruxure helps airports manage energy, enhance energy quality and meet environmental standards through digital solutions. At the building phase, the platform offers digital twin technology for the seamless digital hand-over of projects to the operational phase. The platform is a system-of-system solution that fosters a collaborative environment. It provides a unified version of the truth that helps in faster decisions, improved controls, and operational effectiveness, thus ensuring a seamless consumer experience.

Sustainable Airports
Sustainability is practiced at the world level. The aviation industry is looking to produce suitable fuel, including biofuels, hydrogen, and electric-powered aircraft is well underway but will take time. The term sustainable airport is something we can achieve at present. The aviation industry is foreseeing the opportunity to lead the sustainability agenda, pioneer progressive economic measures, and practices, and ensure that the industry is seen as an active participant in the shift to a net zero economy. However, once the world’s airports are more vocal about their sustainability commitments and making progress on a path to net zero, they will strengthen their social license to operate. The practice of sustainability benefits not only the industry but also society and the communities.

All About DigiYatra
The procedure of booking an air ticket itself consumes more time. On the day of flying, passengers should make sure that they are boarding before the allocated time. Checking and taking a boarding pass is a long procedure. Flyers don’t have to worry about the time, and now the Hyderabad International Airport has come with a new Digi program called DigiYatra, for air passengers. The program will be on air from August 18 for three months. The motto of the government of India’s GMR Hyderabad International Airport (GHIAL) is to launch the electronic processing of passengers as a proof-of-concept via the DigiYatra platform. DigiYatra will enable paperless travel and eliminate multiple identity verifications at the airport, allowing effortless and stress-free travel.

Through DigiYatra, passengers will be automatically processed using the facial recognition system at certain checkpoints, including one located at Departure Domestic Entry Gate 3 and one in the Security Hold Area (SHA) inside the passenger terminal building.

DigiYatra technical team has developed a mobile app to sign up to which has to be downloaded to take advantage of the benefits of the DigiYatra program. The app was officially launched on the 15th of August by The Prime Minister of India. A beta edition of the DigiYatra app is currently accessible via Google Play Store. Google Play store. The same application will be available on the App Store for iOS users in the next few weeks.

Work Structure of DigiYatra
Passengers must download the open DY-ID App, Airline App, OTA App, or Airport App and enter their Aadhaar/driving license number for system authentication. Then only they will receive OTP on their registered mobile/email. Passengers have to enter the OTP in the app DigiYatra which will extract e-KYC data from the Aadhar/DL database. They must scan the passport's first page, extract MRZ data, and read the e-Chip by NFC (optional). DigiYatra app will extract reference faces from Aadhaar e-KYC/DL data/e-passport.

After that, passengers must take their selfies for the facial biometrics to be captured through the app. The face is validated through the DigiLocker portal and associated with authenticated face photographs. Ultimately, the passengers will have to associate their DigiYatra IDs with their current or future flight bookings or boarding passes.

Guidelines for Passengers
When a passenger enters the E-Gate, a bar-coded boarding pass is scanned, and they have to look into the Facial Recognition System (FRS) camera installed when the passenger’s ID and travel document are validated before the gate opens to allow the passenger inside. When the passenger arrives at the PreSHA and looks into the FRS camera installed on the e-gate, the system validates the passenger’s biometric template, and it accepts or rejects the passenger.

The program also provides more about DigiYatra and enables the passengers to receive relevant information about various facilities, protocols, airline timings, and airport queue times. In-flight services and destination-based offerings can also be booked digitally.

Apart from enhancing security with real-time biometrics, the boarding pass or e-ticket is validated with the airline system in real-time. Hyderabad Airport is the first to roll out the DigiYatra Program to air passengers.

Benefits of Program
Passengers will no longer have to show their air tickets or boarding passes; their physical identity cards and the program will help avoid the queues and faster processing. The builders of the DigiYatra Mobile apps proclaim it is very safe as it works on biometrics, and the information will not be shared with anyone.