[uneasyrider]

Originally Posted by arnieshwartz

It is clearly a half baked app rushed to market that can't seem to get its basic functionality right consistently. If anything, it should still be in a beta stage.

There is a recent thread on Twitter about some of the potential issues which led to the abrupt switchover to the new app. If nothing else, this demonstrates a greater need to have governance over one's data.

https://twitter.com/kingslyj/status/1775208880559083858

Note: I am yet to read a rebuttal about these findings from the official handle of the app.

[Redline Shooter]

Have been using Digiyatra for a few months now. The service has been flawless at the Calcutta, Mumbai,Bangalore,Hyderabad airports until last weekend when i was trying to upload my boarding pass before my travel. It kept popping with an error. Finally realised there is a new digiyatra app. Not sure why they moved to a new vendor(most likely, not sure) instead a major release. Also like it has been mentioned above, we cannot upload the pdf. I had to upload an image. This glitches make it difficult for people who are technically sound to believe or even adapt a new technology or feature.

[mayankk]

I justify the privacy concerns with whataboutery.
I mean, I share way more information with google, FB, amazon etc. Locally with tata, Arogya etc.
The reason for this justification is that for a frequent traveler like myself, its a huge boon, which is the time saved at the counters. It is mindboggling now to be at an airport where they dont have DY.
In fact, Indigo also has a setup at T2 delhi with special baggage check-in counter for Digiyatra people.

[ABHI_1512]

Call me skeptical but I am yet to align with the thought of using the Digiyatra app by giving your credentials and linking of Aadhar. Using Digiyatra might have its share of convenience but having seen the rush at Digiyatra gates here in Calcutta Airport, I am yet to see the benefits during rush hours. In fact, I have seen the queues through regular gates moving faster than the Digiyatra gates in Calcutta. I don’t use Digiyatra but that has not impacted my time schedules greatly till now.

Authorities in Calcutta were forcing people to sign up for Digiyatra some months back and were forced to retract from the position after long queues were formed at non Digiyatra gate. While the Civil Aviation Ministry has said that using Digiyatra is completely voluntary, reserving higher number of gates for the users of Digiyatra and less number of gates for non users doesn't really imply the same. Sharing a part of the article which was published in The Telegraph newspaper few months back and this is only about Calcutta.

Terminal entry queue
The entrance to the airport’s domestic departure area gets clogged because of DigiYatra, the app that is supposed to ensure seamless movement of fliers. Some passengers are finding it difficult to use it, said officials. And there are too few entrances for non-DigiYatra passengers.
The DigiYatra facility, introduced at the airport on April 1, 2023, has been installed at all entry gates of the domestic departure section.
A senior official at the Kolkata airport said more than 50 per cent of the eligible passengers are using DigiYatra, which is driven by facial recognition technology.
The airport now handles around 25,000 departure passengers every day, most of whom are eligible for DigiYatra. However, nearly half of them are still opting for the manual process of entering the terminal.
And for those 50 per cent, there are only two gates. Most of the time, only one gate is functional, said sources.
“When we see the queue of non-DigiYatra passengers is getting long, we open the second gate,” said an airport official. “Long queues mostly form during the morning and evening rush hours.
This newspaper spent close to two hours in the domestic departure section of the airport earlier this week. Only gate 1A was open for non-DigiYatra passengers for the entire duration.
Serpentine queues formed at the gate.
All the remaining gates — 1B, 2A and B and 3A and B — were earmarked only for
passengers using DigiYatra.

So, one can see that authorities were in fact forcing people to sign up for Digiyatra by keeping only one gate for non users which shouldn’t be the case. I will continue to be skeptical

Originally Posted by GTO

Digiyatra helps with quicker entry and just making things more convenient. Why fish out your boarding pass & driving licence when you can simply flash your phone.

I have been simply flashing my phone to enter the airports since very long even before Digiyatra happened. Boarding pass on the screen and ID on the Digilocker, a simple 30 second job anyways. But yes, Digiyatra might be beneficial in the long run with all the glitches covered and privacy issues sorted but until that happens, I am good with the existing process.

[SR-71]

As a recent signee to Digi Yatra and using it in 3 different airports almost immediately, here is my experience. Where enabled and integrated well, like Bangalore airport, it's a breeze to walk from the entrance to the gate if you are travelling only with a carry on. This is because digi yatra queues are currently low volume and they have a dedicated security screening lane. I had recently noted in my other post that it took me all of 15 minutes from parking my car to reaching the gate in Bangalore's T1 terminal on a quiet Sunday afternoon. However, my experience at Ahmedabad airport was quite the contrary. Entering the airport was easy, but the convenience ends there. There are no dedicated security lines, and the security were asking to see the paper boarding pass. When I mentioned digi yatra, they asked me to go fetch my phone and show it to them. And they take their own sweet time to verify it with the queue being held behind all the while. With every digi yatra enabled passenger going through the same song and dance routine, the delay kept adding up!

Bottom line, it really depends on how well the airport operator has adopted the technology. Airports like Bangalore, Hyderabad and Delhi are highly digi yatra friendly.

[VaibhaoT]

Originally Posted by ABHI_1512

Call me skeptical but I am yet to align with the thought of using the Digiyatra app by giving your credentials and linking of Aadhar.

I am paranoid of sharing my AADHAR details with anyone, including government agencies. I try to resist on taking out my AADHAR as much as possible. AADHAR is way too powerful IMHO. UIDAI takes lot of precaution for safe usage of data, but many of the stakeholders treat it very casually.

I think I will continue to remain away from Digi Yatra as much as possible, till they keep asking for AADHAR.

[blueberry]

I've been a regular user of Digi Yatra for the last ~2years, at Delhi, Bangalore and Kochi airports.

• It makes a difference at crowded airports (Delhi and Bangalore). More so when its the vacation peak travel time. Easily cut short my airport entry and Security check time by 30minutes.
• At Kochi airport - It hardly saves me 5 minutes

I suspect this is going to go the Fastag way, once the system stabilises.
Currently only a few dedicated lines for security check are reserved for Digiyatra passengers. This will get expanded to more lines & eventually all security check lines will be Digiyatra only.

The only reason security check is faster for Digi Yatra passengers is the low adoption, and hence the shorter queues. It has no inherent quality which makes conducting a security check faster.
Early adopters of the technology will be able to get thru airports faster, before everyone is mandated to come on this technology.

[roy_libran]

Not a DigiYatra user and won't be unless forced. Am absolutely happy taking that 1 non-DY lane at airports, arriving earlier and inculcating my patience.

My concerns:
1. What is the exact 'problem'/'risk' that is better solved by use of sensitive biometric data for boarding what is essentially a shared (air)cab service? How is it conceptually different than taking a cab, bus, train or ferry or will this overt surveillance extend in time to every single movement an individual makes?

2. As an individual who has ownership of the said data, do I have any confidence that there are adequate Controls in place across the entire lifecycle of this data, including deletion?

3. Why the huge 'Push' which admittedly has reduced a tad after all the hue and cry?

[Vitalstatistiks]

Noob question:

What will be the benefit of DigiYatra when all/most travellers have migrated to this system, and same traffic moves from physical queues to Digi queues?

[satish.gawai]

I am using Digi Yatra for my domestic travel. It is really useful to get inside the airport faster than the non-Digi Yatra traveler.

But I am concerned with data security now. we all know the Aadhar card data bridge issues. With Digiyatra now my facial information is also with the agencies. we already have Google to screw our privacy and track us everywhere.

Now the agencies know where & when I am traveling, with whom, by which flight, and which hotel. With the increase in AI fraud cases, somebody can make your facial image and plant it anywhere (remember the Rashmika Mandana case).

Things are getting complicated.

[dee_dust]

My experience with DIGIYATRA since its launch, has been fantastic. I do walk with the help of a crutch and do not like getting any preferential treatment at public places. My travel is once or twice a month, mostly through airports, and Digiyatra has been a boon at Kolkata airports (one of the early adopters). While all airlines have not registered for Digiyatra travel, luckily Indigo has. The entire journey from getting out of the car to clearing security has taken around 10 mins on average, keeping in mind that I travel mostly with hand luggage and no check in.
I was really frustrated that Mumbai Airport had not started Digiyatra services, till a few months ago, where it is available only at gate 1.
It is very helpful again at Pune airport, as the queues are horrendous and have seen many travelers panicking and raising a ruckus when running short of time.

How the service would fare given more migration is up for discussion, but the way some government initiatives have hit it out of the park (e.g UPI), I am optimistic.

As for data privacy concerns, my personal opinion is that we are currently living in a connected world where every shop/restaurant requests for your mobile no, where the security is nonexistent. So I would keep my guard up and make a conscious choice where to disclose personal details.

Happy and safe travels to all fellow BHP'ians.

[driven646]

I've used it at Bangalore & Mumbai airports recently & enjoyed it's ease of use & convenience.

Hope my home airport of Chandigarh gets Digiyatra soon. I don't care about the usual malcontents howling about 'privacy' etc - they're a part of a crowd that has always believed us Indian's don't deserve good stuff and must remain 'noble' third world forever.

[DigitalOne]

Originally Posted by Vitalstatistiks

Noob question:

What will be the benefit of DigiYatra when all/most travellers have migrated to this system, and same traffic moves from physical queues to Digi queues?

Digiyatra will still be faster. From a technical standpoint, the system has to validate your face only among the passengers' faces who are expected to enter the airport in the next few hours. So it will definitely be faster than the overworked CISF staff at the gate, who has to physically check the boarding pass/ticket.

More importantly, security breaches like this or this - 2 cases just in Bangalore in the last 5 months (!!) - would be eliminated.

Woman enters Bengaluru airport with fake e-ticket to see off ..

Police said Saini had created a fake e-ticket for an Indigo ..

Man held for entering Bengaluru airport with fake air ticket to drop off friend.

Prakhar Srinivasa admitted to authorities that he had manipulated his friend's e-ticket using a mobile application to gain access to the airport.

In fact, I fully expect secutiry features like DigiYatra gates not to open if the flight departure time is beyond a certain period, say 6 hours.

In short, DigiYatra is going to be faster and more secure. Non-DigiYatra passengers will invite more scrutiny. Whether this is right or wrong, is not a debate I would indulge in, but this is going to be the reality.

[anandhsub]

Originally Posted by Vitalstatistiks

Noob question:

What will be the benefit of DigiYatra when all/most travellers have migrated to this system, and same traffic moves from physical queues to Digi queues?

As such there is no digyatra queue to enter the airport unless a non digiyatra person has entered the queue and is arguing with the officials. There is no checking of ID and the system automatically opens the gate when it detects your face.

At the security check yes, I havent found much advantage of having digi yatra other than the separate lines.

[RaghuVis]

I hope more people become skeptical and paranoid about data privacy and do not shift to Digit Yatra.

That way, it will be a boon for us existing users who do not think that personal information shared via Digi Yatra is going to be the end of life when we share these same details with every Tom, Dick and Harry.

My best case usage was in Bangalore Airport a few months back when I was the only passenger in the Digi Yatra queue and I counted at least 60 people in the queue at the security check.