Now, airports push for Aadhaar-enabled entry
NEW DELHI: Airports are pushing for Aadhaar-enabled entry to improve security and increase passenger throughput as air traffic peaks across India.
Currently, most passengers have to show their printed or mobile air tickets and a government identity card to enter airports.Airports like Bengaluru and Hyderabad, which have surpassed the capacities for which they were built on the back of double-digit growth, are using Aadhaar-based entry in coordination with airlines through a process called e-boarding. The airports are using the manual procedures as back-up options.
Airports Authority of India’s Baroda and Vijaywada airports are also likely to use similar technology soon. At Hyderabad, most domestic airlines are using e-boarding with at least 150 flights using the technology.“E-boarding has improved the passenger throughput outcome at the boarding gates by 30% and performance of the security frisking area by 20%,” said a Hyderabad airport spokesperson.
This is due to the fact that the two-lane automated e-gate has replaced a single lane manual scan channel and automatic scan of the boarding pass has improved time over manual reading.
Currently, the Hyderabad airport system is using Aadhaar verification only at the terminal entrance to establish the identity of the passengers, but if the airlines are able to provide the passenger’s Aadhaar number along with the ticketing information, the system is fully capable of using Aadhaar as a single document/identity for terminal entry as well as a boarding card replacement.
Similarly, at the Bengaluru airport, the Aadhaar-based process enables a passenger to be verified in under 5 seconds at every checkpoint right up to the boarding gate, completing the screening process in 10 minutes compared to the average 25 minutes.
This helps more passengers to enter through the same gate.
“Traditionally, as passenger numbers grow, the various security check points are increased. With biometric entry we are creating a quicker throughput of passenger flow, enhancing customer experience,” a Bengaluru Airport spokesperson said.
Airports are also keeping manual checking as a fall back option if systems fail or passengers are not ready. They are also looking at additional identification options including Passport/ PAN numbers as the process evolves.
Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Goa, Lucknow and Calicut are among the worst-hit airports with India’s air traffic touching nearly 100 million flyers in 2016, growing in double digits, Mint reported.
Evolving this process requires high-speed, real-time access to Aadhaar database.
“Based on our request and recommendation of the Civil Aviation Ministry, UIDAI has now agreed to permit Airport Operators to enrol as Authentication User Agency (AUA)/ e-KYC User Agency (KUA), which would enable us to establish robust and speedy connectivity to the Aadhaar database and roll out the services for fullscale use at the airport,” a Hyderabad Airport spokesperson said. “With the necessary amendments now in place, we expect the process to conclude in the next few weeks.”
The government has already said it expects the DigiYatra project to be up soon.
Minister of civil aviation for state Jayant Sinha said last week that the ministry has set up a “working group” for DigiYatra or a plan to introduce a similar paper-less process which could be rolled out in a few months. “Your payment is digital, your boarding and security interactions are digital... That is the DigiYatra concept we are working on. We have a working group established and we are very hopeful of rolling out some of these in the next few months.”.