Digi Yatra international trial to begin at seven airports from November 1

New Delhi, October 30, 2026: Digi Yatra will no longer be limited to domestic flights. A trial for international passengers begins at seven airports in the country on November 1. Eligible Indian citizens holding e-passports will be able to use digital identity at designated checkpoints on international flights of Air India and IndiGo.

The trial will be held at the airports in Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kochi, Mumbai, Chennai and Amritsar. It is expected to run until December 2026. It will test facial recognition and passport-based digital credentials, so that the need to verify identity repeatedly at some stages of the airport journey is reduced.

Eligible passengers taking part will have to create their digital identity credential through the Digi Yatra mobile app. For this, they must scan the machine-readable part of the e-passport. The chip in the passport will then be read with a smartphone that has NFC (near field communication). After that, a selfie will be taken and the details verified.

Once verified, the digital credential will be stored in the Digi Yatra wallet on the passenger's phone. Depending on the infrastructure available at each airport, it can be used at places such as terminal entry, the security hold area and boarding gates.

However, this digital facility will not replace the existing requirements of international travel. Passengers must still carry their passports and other required travel documents. The airline's document check will also take place, and passengers will have to go through immigration and other required formalities. The initial trial concerns the processing of passengers inside the airport, while the immigration and emigration processes will continue separately.

The expansion comes after the use of Digi Yatra on domestic flights, where passengers at select airports use digital identity and facial recognition. The international trial will examine how e-passport-based credentials work at different checkpoints. Only after that will any large-scale rollout be considered.

Based on feedback from passengers in the trial, a plan for wider expansion will be drawn up in 2027. Digi Yatra is also exploring the possibility of aligning with international aviation identity frameworks. These include the International Air Transport Association's One ID initiative and the International Civil Aviation Organization's Public Key Directory.

Along with the international trial, the platform has also introduced a new design for the mobile app. Navigation has been made easier, the credential wallet has been updated and a new consent screen has been created, so that users can understand what information they are sharing and with whom.

The trials are another step towards digitising airport processes. How far their scope expands will depend on the results of testing, airport infrastructure and regulatory requirements. Passenger privacy and data security will also have to be maintained while making international travel easier.