Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) has expanded its biometric-based self-boarding process at Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru (BLR Airport) to include low-cost airline AirAsia India. The digital passenger processing solution Digi Yatra enables the seamless flow of passengers from registration to boarding.
DigiYatra is part of an initiative by the Indian Ministry of Civil Aviation, which allows for passengers to be automatically processed based on facial biometric systems at checkpoints like airport entry point, security check and boarding gates at the terminal. The ONE-ID biometric platform technology developed and installed by Vision-Box has now been enabled for AirAsia India flights from BLR Airport.
Sunil Bhaskaran, MD & CEO, AirAsia India, commented: “The implementation of biometric recognition systems are quickly proving essential to enable safe, convenient and contactless travel experiences. To enable enhanced safety and security for our guests, AirAsia India has collaborated with BLR Airport for the implementation of the Digi Yatra facility. Digi Yatra services are another step in our continuous focus on leveraging technology to redefine the new norms of travel with emergent solutions that alleviate the guest experience and enable social distancing.”
Hari Marar, MD & CEO, Bangalore International Airport Limited, added: “At BLR Airport, we have been following stringent safety and hygiene protocols and we believe that the tech-enabled biometric journey is another step towards 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’. BIAL continues to leverage technology to make travel seamless across customer touchpoints. We are committed to offering innovative ways to simplify the passenger journey, while maintaining the highest standards of safety, security and privacy.”
In November 2018, AirAsia India, in collaboration with BLR Airport, launched a self-bag-drop facility, enhancing self-service options to minimise wait time at counters and offer a seamless travel experience for its guests. Tying up with other safety measures such as deployment of e-boarding passes, web check-in and medical screening, enabling the use of Digi Yatra ensures adherence with social distancing and contactless touch points while at the airport.
AirAsia India guests travelling from BLR Airport, can now present travel documents at every touch point by simply enrolling their facial biometric and ID card validation at one of the 11 kiosks, combined with their flight details, before entering the terminal. The airline says that the biometric data is used only for authentication and verification of passengers to assist the boarding process and not for recognition. In addition, the passenger data is deleted within a few hours of flight completion. The facility will be optional for passengers as they can choose either to register for Digi Yatra or go through the existing manual process.
