Forget IDs, you may soon use biometrics to enter airports

The Government has begun work on ensuring a completely paperless aircraft boarding process under which a mobile phone is all that will be required to board domestic flights in India. 

The aviation ministry is linking the databases of airlines and airports with passenger IDs such as Aadhaar and passport numbers for this. 

Once this happens, says aviation secretary R N Choubey, passengers will be able to use biometrics to prove identity before entering terminals and will not have to show ID cards. A flight ticket or eticket will not be needed either as the airline database will show the details of the flight they are booked on. 

The linked airport databases will show if the passenger has been through checkin and security check gates before being allowed access to the boarding gate closer to flight departure time. 

"We have set up a special unit in Airports Authority of India for giving shape to this 'digi yatra' programme. Airport operators, especially from Bangalore and Hyderabad, are part of this as they have done a lot of work in this field. We will soon know the indicative cost of the project and time frame in which it can be implemented," Choubey told TOI. International flyers, however, will need passports to travel.