Southern India’s Bangalore International Airport (BIAL) has expanded its biometric-based self-boarding process to include low-cost airline AirAsia India.
The digital passenger processing solution Digi Yatra enables the seamless flow of passengers from registration to boarding, minimizing paperwork, and was developed by supplier Vision-Box.
It is part of an initiative by the Indian Ministry of Civil Aviation whereby passengers are automatically processed based on facial biometric systems at checkpoints throughout the terminal, such as security and check-in.
Explaining the benefits of the system, Sunil Bhaskaran, managing director and CEO, AirAsia India, said, “The implementation of biometric recognition systems is quickly proving essential to enable safe, convenient and contactless travel experiences. At BLR Airport, we have been following stringent safety and hygiene protocols and we believe that the tech-enabled biometric journey is another step toward healthy, secure and hassle-free travel.
“This project will continue the process of transforming passenger journeys – unleashing the power of the country’s first all-biometric flow operation, where your face is your boarding pass.”
To utilize the system, passengers enrol with a facial biometric scan and ID card validation, combined with their flight details, at one of 11 kiosks before entering the terminal. The airport stresses that biometric data is used only for authentication and verification of passengers to assist the boarding process and not for recognition, and that the data is deleted within a few hours of the flight being completed. The facility will be optional for passengers who can choose either to register or go through the existing manual process.
