Mobile phones, Aadhaar might soon be gateway for air travel

Under 'digi yatra,' civil aviation ministry will make boarding pass, security interactions digital

You might soon be using just your mobile phone and Aadhaar for air travel minus all that paper work, with the government looking to roll out a digital system for airport entry and subsequent journey requirements.

Under the proposed 'digi yatra' initiative, the civil aviation ministry is looking to make "boarding pass and security interactions" digital.

Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha today said the ministry is working on the initiative to ensure the whole air travel experience is completely digital.

"Your payment is digital, your boarding and security interactions are digital... That is the digi yatra concept we are working on," he noted.

According to Sinha, under the initiative, there will be no need for any paper and the traveller will be securely identified through Aadhaar number, passport or other documents.

"We have a working group established and we are very hopeful of rolling out some of these in the next few months," the minister said.

Speaking on the sidelines of an event organised by industry body CII, Sinha said, "The whole experience would be completely digital so that you wouldn't need any paper and you would be able to book your car to the airport, get into the airport, get a digital boarding pass, board your aircraft, take a car way back and do all of that just with your mobile phone."

He also stressed that the ministry is trying to understand how best to establish a uniform set of standards and protocols so that they can be applied across the system.

Meanwhile, Sinha said the ministry is in the process of coming up with an approach to have a no-fly list that is based on safety.

"... If passengers behave in an unruly or disruptive manner and endanger the safety of all of us in an aeroplane, then we will have a way of ensuring they are not able to fly and are appropriately dealt with," he said.

Noting that the ministry is blazing a new trail on the no-fly list based on safety apart from security considerations, Sinha said it is a serious matter that needs a great deal of deliberations.

The government decided to have a no-fly list in the wake of instances of unruly behaviour by air passengers, especially in the case of Shiva Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad who assaulted an Air India staffer last month.