New Delhi [India], December 2 (ANI): Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Thursday launched 'DigiYatra' at the Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport in Varanasi, Airports Authority of India (AAI) informed through a press release.

At an event organised at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in the national capital, the Civil Aviation minister inaugurated the service for the Delhi airport while virtually launching the facility for Varanasi and Bengaluru airports.

"Conceived by DigiYatra Foundation under the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the project is aimed to achieve contactless, seamless processing of passengers at airports based on Facial Recognition Technology (FRT)," the release stated.

The Union minister said the project envisages a traveller of today, passing through various checkpoints at the airports through paperless and contactless processing using facial features to establish his/her identity which could be linked to the boarding pass.

To use this facility, one-time registration is required to be done on the 'DigiYatra' App through an Aadhar-based validation and a self-image capture. "The project has tremendous advantages of improving passenger convenience and ease of travel," the Civil Aviation Minister said.

During the launch of the service at the Varanasi airport, Airport Director Aryama Sanyal personally welcomed and greeted the first passenger who availed the new facility. He was travelling to Delhi by an IndiGo Airlines flight.

Passengers can download the app on Android and iOS platforms and register with their ID and image on their phones. While travelling through the airport, the system will recognise the passenger by capturing his face and he will be allowed to enter without showing any document.

The service is presently being launched for domestic flight passengers only and is voluntary in nature, the release further stated.

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) plans to launch the 'DigiYatra' service at three more of its Airports -- in Pune, Vijayawada and Kolkata in the next phase by March 2023. (ANI)