Airlines asked to issue e-tickets with barcodes for faster check-in: Report

India's major airports, especially Indira Gandhi International Airport, have been facing massive congestion with passengers complaining of long waiting times at entry gates and security checks

In order to reduce the check-in time, the Centre has asked airlines to issue flight tickets with barcodes. However, the airlines have opposed the move saying that a large number of tickets are issued by travel agents and they should not be held responsible for it, a report in the Economic Times (ET) said.

A senior official told ET that one of the bottlenecks at major airports was the entry gates.

"Passengers turn up with different formats of air tickets which then have to be manually checked by the security personnel at the entry gate. So, despite airports like Delhi and Mumbai having 2-D barcode scanners at entry gates, it cannot be used leading to an increase in queuing," he said. 

India's major airports, especially Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport, have been facing massive congestion with passengers complaining of long waiting times at entry gates and security checks.

The e-tickets with barcodes were originally suggested by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF). The move is also expected to prevent people with fake tickets from entering the airports. 

Airlines, however, said that they couldn't maintain a uniform format for such tickets as travel agents do not have the facility to provide a 2-D barcode. 

"IATA mandates that e-tickets should have information only about the passenger, PNR, and his journey. A barcode is mandatory there as it is usually on the boarding card...Small travel agents will not have the resources to issue tickets with barcodes," an executive of the airline told ET.

According to airlines, the Centre should make web check-in necessary.