NEC India launches contactless boarding at Varanasi airport

NEC announces the unveiling of the most awaited DigiYatra initiative - a paperless boarding process for air passengers, at the Varanasi airport. On Thursday, 1st December 2022, NEC India made a remarkable contribution to stitching the digital framework of the country by enabling contactless processing of passengers through Facial Recognition Technology (FRT) and biometric technology.

Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia flagged off the DigiYatra program at the Varanasi airport virtually.

The solution helps realise a future wherein every citizen can travel hassle-free and enjoy their travel without having to wait at various checkpoints, including airport arrival, security clearance, and boarding for long durations. The opt-in service offered by the facial recognition platform will significantly reduce the number of times passengers need to present physical documents lash passports and boarding passes. Passengers would be required to do a one-time registration of their details on the DigiYatra app to avail of the services. In addition to the facial recognition platform, NEC’s kiosk terminals and biometric-enabled e-gates will, over time, further elevate the boarding experience for passengers in India.

NEC India won a contract from the Airports Authority of India (AAI) in December 2019, to implement the biometric boarding platform at four different airports, namely Varanasi, Kolkata, Pune and Vijayawada, under the DigiYatra initiative.

DigiYatra will be launched at 7 airports in its first phase, and it is currently active at the Bengaluru, Varanasi, and New Delhi airports. As part of the second phase of its implementation, the initiative will go live in Hyderabad, Kolkata, Pune, and Vijayawada airports, and subsequently across various other airports in the country.

This launch is significant, as it is reflective of NEC Corporation India’s larger vision to support the government in its digitisation drive across various facets of governance and citizen-centric services. NEC’s seven-decade legacy has been to meticulously develop cutting-edge solutions, making the lives of every Indian convenient, efficient, and safe.