Digi Yatra international trials will begin on November 1 for eligible Indian passengers flying abroad from seven airports, allowing Air India and IndiGo travellers with e-passports to use facial-recognition-enabled processing at selected points inside terminals. The beta programme will run through December and is intended to inform a wider rollout planned for 2027.
The trial will cover Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Cochin, Mumbai, Chennai and Amritsar airports. Passengers will be able to use Digi Yatra at terminal entry points, security hold areas and boarding gates where the required infrastructure is available. The programme will cover all international destinations served by Air India and select destinations served by IndiGo.
Eligibility is currently limited to Indian nationals holding e-passports, which contain an embedded electronic chip. To enrol, passengers must scan their e-passport through the Digi Yatra app, read the chip using the near-field communication feature on a compatible smartphone and take a selfie. After verification, the digital credential is stored in the Digi Yatra wallet on the passenger’s phone.
The international trial does not replace immigration procedures, airline document checks or other mandatory travel formalities. Passengers will still need to carry their passports and complete all required checks before boarding. Digi Yatra’s use will therefore be limited to participating airport access and processing points equipped for the trial.
The move follows technical tests conducted with IndiGo on international routes, including Bengaluru-Doha. Those tests examined whether digital identity credentials could function across airport systems. The latest phase is the first one in which eligible passengers can use the service during their international journeys, according to the Digi Yatra Foundation.
“With the start of international passenger trials, we are taking an important step towards extending this experience to eligible Indian nationals travelling internationally,” Suresh Khadakbhavi, chief executive officer of the Digi Yatra Foundation, said.
The foundation said passenger feedback from the beta programme would help shape the planned wider rollout. It will also explore compatibility with global aviation identity frameworks, potentially supporting the use of digital credentials across borders. The organisation has redesigned the Digi Yatra app, including its consent screen, to make clearer what information passengers share, with whom and for what purpose.
Digi Yatra currently has more than 2.65 crore users and has enabled over 11 crore journeys, according to the foundation. The system operates at 39 domestic airports and serves 11 domestic airlines. A further 25 domestic airports are planned to be covered by 2027.
The international trials extend a digital identity system that has so far been used mainly for domestic airport journeys. Their immediate scope remains limited to Indian e-passport holders flying on participating services, with immigration and airline verification continuing through existing mandatory processes. The passenger trial will run until December, after which feedback will be used to assess the next phase of expansion.
