Kempegowda International Airport has conducted technical trials of a contactless international travel system, marking a step towards biometric-enabled passenger processing for overseas travel.
The trials, conducted by Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) in collaboration with IndiGo, the Digi Yatra Foundation and the International Air Transport Association (IATA), demonstrated an end-to-end digital travel flow. This included processes from ticket booking to airport check-in and boarding, using biometric authentication.
The system is built on a Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI) framework, allowing passengers to verify their identity through facial recognition while maintaining control over personal data. The trial also tested app-to-app integration for sharing boarding details, reducing the need for physical documents.
The exercise is part of IATA’s global proof-of-concept initiatives aimed at standardizing contactless travel across international airports. Bengaluru is currently the only airport in India participating in this program.
Airport authorities said the trials assessed the feasibility of scaling the system for international passengers as traffic continues to grow. While biometric processing is already in use for domestic travel under Digi Yatra, extending it to international routes will require alignment with global standards and regulatory clearances.
“What we’ve demonstrated… is a glimpse of the future of international travel. We’ve enabled a seamless, end-to-end digital journey where a passenger’s identity is securely established in advance and verified across airport touchpoints using only their face. Built on Digi Yatra’s first consent-driven privacy framework, this approach also provides minimal, intent-related data identifying us with an AI. demonstrated. true interoperability with other global travel ecosystems, paving the way for faster, safer and more reliable travel experiences on a global scale,” said Suresh Khadakbhavi, CEO of Digi Yatra Foundation.
