Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru (BLR Airport) has successfully launched the ‘Early Go Live’ of its ambitious Digi Yatra project – a fully biometric-based self-boarding solution for seamless flow from registration to boarding. The airport has partnered with Vistara to launch the One-ID biometric platform technology that will enable passengers to breeze through BLR Airport. The solution has been developed and installed by Vision-Box, which will be exhibiting its biometric-enabled solutions at FTE Global 2019 in Las Vegas, 4-6 September.
After the completion of the final phase by early next year, it is expected to be the largest deployment of an end-to-end paperless biometric programme in Asia with over 350 passenger touch-points at BLR Airport Terminal 1.
The first milestone of the programme enables passengers travelling on Vistara flight UK864 from Bengaluru to Mumbai to utilise this process without presenting travel documents at every touch-point. This was made possible by the integration of Vistara’s Departure Control System (DCS) with the technology, allowing effortless processing at the entry to the terminal, passenger security screening and the boarding gate. All Vistara flights are expected to be integrated into the biometric boarding process at BLR Airport by October 2019.
Over the next few months, this process is expected to be integrated with check-in/self-bag-drop to include other domestic and international airlines at BLR Airport. In the final stage, this technology will be integrated with the Digi Yatra Central Platform that is currently being architectured by the Central Government’s Digi Yatra Foundation.
Passengers can simply enrol their ID and biometric data, combined with their flight details, before entering the terminal. As they travel through the airport, passengers can put their travel documents away, as they will be authenticated and verified at every touch-point by biometric technology. This process offers the highest degree of safety and security while ensuring stringent standards of privacy. The biometric data is used only for authentication and verification of passengers to assist the boarding process and not for recognition. In addition, the passenger data is deleted within a few hours of flight completion.
“BIAL is extremely excited to roll out this Digi Yatra-based biometric technology that has the potential to make the passenger experience at the BLR Airport seamless, secure and enjoyable. As the gateway to a new India, BLR Airport would like to be a frontrunner amongst next-generation airport operations,” said Hari Marar, MD & CEO at Bangalore International Airport Ltd. (BIAL).
“There is an increasing need to offer seamless experiences and, as a pioneer in the airport technology domain in India, BIAL is committed to offering innovative ways to simplify the passenger journey, while maintaining the highest standards of safety, security and privacy. A select few passengers now have the opportunity to experience this sophisticated technology as part of this rollout,” he added. “Once we trial the full end-to-end process successfully and integrate it into the Digi Yatra Platform being developed by the Digi Yatra Foundation, the technology and process will be used extensively for seamless flow in our upcoming Terminal 2 Project as well.”
Vistara’s Chief Information and Innovation Officer, Ravinder Pal Singh, said: “As an organisation with innovation at its core, we continue to keep a sharp focus on leveraging technology to make travelling increasingly seamless across customer touch-points. Collaborating with organisations across the aviation ecosystem using technology to enable this biometric boarding technology is yet another step in this direction. We will continue to invest in cutting-edge technologies to stay ahead of the curve, while we are laying our foundation for the future, keeping today’s need in consideration.”
Vision-Box’s Orchestra platform is the enterprise solution behind the end-to-end Seamless Flow experience, combining next generation Identity Management as a Service features, certified common-use connectors, tier one biometric algorithms, artificial intelligence and deep learning technologies, the latest trends in user experience, and human-to-machine interface.
Miguel Leitmann, CEO, Vision-Box, commented: “Vision-Box was selected by BLR Airport a few months ago to deliver a trusted biometric platform that enables a digital friction-less passenger experience, resembling ‘a walk in the park’. Here we are together inaugurating the first stage of the Digi Yatra Seamless Flow programme, which is a premiere in India and the largest initiative in Asia. Most importantly, it will become a major growth handler for BLR by enhancing capacity, efficiency and security, while offering a modern experience for passengers.”
At FTE Global 2019 (4-6 September, Las Vegas), Satyaki Raghunath, Chief Strategy & Development Officer, Bengaluru International Airport, will speak in the two-part Biometrics Summit, which also includes speakers from the likes of Delta Air Lines, TSA, U.S. CBP, Lufthansa Group, British Airways, McCarran International Airport, Brasilia Airport and IATA. Find out more here >>
