The Chennai airport may soon go paperless as a new facial recognition system will be put in place to eliminate long queues at check-in counters, according to the Airports Authority of India (AAI).
Titled DigiYatra, the scheme will be implemented by the Civil Aviation Ministry and under this, a passenger can get his or her face captured and ticket scanned in order to check-in. This system will be put in place by the end of next year, according to the Times of India.
E-gates with cameras and scanners will be present at each terminal, check-in area and security check and boarding gates, the Times of India reported. Passengers will be allowed through those using face recognition technology. The e-gate at the entrance of the terminal will scan the QR code of the passenger's ticket along with his or her face. It will allow the passenger through if both the details match with the database.
“This system will save time for passengers and also ensure better security for airports. At first, on a trial basis, it will be implemented at a few airports, including Kolkata, Varanasi, Vijayawada and Pune, after which we will bring it to Chennai as well,” an official told the Hindu.
The system will reportedly prevent passengers travelling with fake tickets or boarding cards of other passengers.
Officials say that passengers who wish to use this system have to sign up and create an account — which will be done by the Airports Authority of India. If they do not wish to do so, they can go via the conventional route and get their tickets and boarding passes checked by the airport staff.
The system will be installed first at the Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru in the first quarter of 2019. The tenders will be done in such a way that the same operator will not get to install the system in several airports, officials added. Airport authorities earlier said that Jet Airways, Air Asia and SpiceJet passengers will be the first users.