Nagpur airport entry gates to open with face recognition, no boarding pass needed
DigiYatra users at Nagpur's Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport can now enter through gates that open on facial recognition alone.
Passengers travelling from Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport in Nagpur now have a new facility. Travellers using DigiYatra no longer need to repeatedly pull out and scan their boarding pass at the airport entry gate. The system will verify the passenger by face recognition alone, and the gate will open automatically once identity is confirmed.
GMR Nagpur International Airport Limited (GNIAL) has implemented single-step face recognition at all DigiYatra-enabled entry gates. The new system is expected to make the entry process faster and simpler than before. The passenger only has to stand in front of the camera for a moment. The system will recognise the face, verify the passenger, and the entry gate will then open automatically.
Earlier, DigiYatra passengers had to scan their boarding pass at the DigiYatra gate on reaching the airport. The system would then verify identity by matching the boarding pass details with the passenger's face. This added an extra step to the process. Under the new system, that step has been simplified by removing the need to scan the boarding pass. The face itself now serves as the means of identification, which is expected to save time at the entry gate and make passenger movement smoother.
To use the facility, passengers first need to register on the DigiYatra app. This involves entering identity details and completing the face authentication process. The relevant boarding pass then needs to be linked to the app. On reaching the airport, the passenger has to go to the camera installed at the DigiYatra-enabled gate. The camera will recognise the face, and once it matches the information in the system, entry will be permitted automatically.
The benefit of this new facility will not be limited to the airport entry gate alone. Once identity is verified, passengers will also be able to proceed at other checkpoints linked to DigiYatra using facial recognition. This is expected to reduce manual checking of documents. According to the airport administration, the system will spare passengers the trouble of repeatedly producing documents and boarding passes. It could also help control crowding at the entry gate during peak hours and speed up movement.
GNIAL CEO Shrikant Bhandarkar said the airport is continuously adopting such technology to make travel easier and more convenient for passengers. He said single-step face recognition has further improved DigiYatra's existing system, and will help give passengers a faster, contactless travel experience.
