Airlines have expressed concerns to the Government over data-protection issues which the Government said it would address.
New Delhi: Within the next four months, the Government is planning to put in place a system where passengers booking air-tickets will have to mandatorily give either their Aadhaar, passport or Pan card number which will be linked with the PNR number in the booking.
However, airlines have expressed concerns to the Government over data-protection issues which the Government said it would address. Sources said there were concerns over “privacy issues” regarding passenger data which is why the Centre is expected to tread a cautious path to ensure confidentiality regarding the information submitted by passengers from either of the three documents.
The modalities will be worked out and more clarity is expected then. The Government has constituted a technical committee and will act on its recommendations to bring forth rules for a seamless digital experience wherein passengers will just have to show their unique identity number code (from any of the three documents) on their mobile phones/biometric identity and can even check-in baggage digitally.
“It will be a pull experience, not a push one,” minister of state for civil aviation Jayant Sinha told reporters on Thursday, explaining that if passengers do not want to avail of the proposed digital experience that will cut the time they spend in queues at airports by half, they can also manually take their boarding cards and check-in their luggage at the counters.
Mr Sinha said the government will constitute a technical committee comprising three to four members who will bring out a draft white paper on “putting in place a security architecture” for a seamless digital experience for passengers at airports. A couple of months after that, the government will put in place new rules for the digital experience. But the government has to ensure installation of the requisite electronic equipment at airports, with the airport operators expected to bear the costs.
The move is planned initially at the major airports, with Bengaluru and Hyderabad airports already ushering in a digital experience on a pilot basis for some or all passengers, according to ministry officials. The civil aviation ministry said it would introduce a “Digital Experience for Air Travellers” via a “DigiYatra Platform”.
