Digi Yatra International Trials Begin at Hyderabad Airport for E-Passport Holders
Trials for the Digi Yatra digital passenger verification facility for international travel using e-passports have begun at Hyderabad airport and six other airports across India, ahead of a wider rollout planned by the government for 2027. Under the initiative, eligible international air passengers with e-passports can now make use of the digital verification system.
The trials are scheduled to run through the months of November and December across seven airports nationwide: Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Cochin, and Amritsar. The service is initially available to eligible Indian nationals travelling on select international flights operated by Air India and IndiGo.
Participating passengers can use Digi Yatra at designated airport entry points, security hold areas, and boarding gates, subject to the availability of the required infrastructure at each location. The system streamlines airport processing across these checkpoints by utilising digital credentials.
The government is using this trial phase to evaluate the passenger experience and gather operational feedback. Officials will review this input before considering expanding the digital verification facility to additional international routes and further airports ahead of the planned 2027 rollout.
To access the service, passengers must first create an e-passport-based Verifiable Credential through the Digi Yatra mobile application. This setup requires scanning the passport's Machine Readable Zone (MRZ), reading its embedded chip using a smartphone equipped with a Near Field Communication (NFC) feature, and completing selfie-based identity verification.
Once generated, the digital credential is stored directly in the passenger's Digi Yatra wallet on their device and can be used at airport touchpoints enabled for the trials. However, Digi Yatra will not replace existing international travel procedures. Travellers must still carry their physical passports and other travel documents to undergo mandatory airline document verification, immigration checks, and other applicable formalities.
The international trials coincide with Digi Yatra's continued expansion across India's domestic aviation network. The platform currently has more than 26.5 million registered users and has facilitated over 110 million passenger journeys across 39 domestic airports. The government is also planning to extend the service to another 25 domestic airports by 2027.
