Tired Of Showing Your Passport At Airports? Digi Yatra To Go International

International air passengers with e-passports in India can now use Digi Yatra at seven airports across the country as the government begins trials of the digital passenger verification facility ahead of a wider rollout in 2027.

The trials, which will run through November and December, cover Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Cochin and Amritsar airports. The facility is initially available to eligible Indian nationals travelling on select international flights operated by Air India and IndiGo.

Passengers can use Digi Yatra at designated airport entry points, security hold areas and boarding gates, subject to the availability of the required infrastructure.

The trial phase will be used to assess passenger experience and gather feedback before the government considers expanding the facility to more international routes and airports in 2027.

To access the service, passengers must create an e-passport-based Verifiable Credential through the Digi Yatra mobile application. This requires scanning the passport's Machine Readable Zone (MRZ), reading its embedded chip using a smartphone's Near Field Communication (NFC) feature, and completing selfie-based identity verification.

Once generated, the digital credential is stored in the passenger's Digi Yatra wallet on the device and can be used at airport touchpoints enabled for the trials.

However, Digi Yatra will not replace existing international travel procedures. Passengers will still need to carry their passports and other travel documents and undergo mandatory airline document verification, immigration checks and other applicable formalities.

Digi Yatra's Domestic Expansion

The international trials come as Digi Yatra continues to expand across India's domestic aviation network. The platform has more than 26.5 million users and has facilitated over 110 million journeys across 39 domestic airports.

The government is also planning to extend the service to another 25 domestic airports by 2027.