New Delhi, 09 April (H.S.):

IndiGo, India’s leading budget carrier, and Bengaluru International Airport Limited (BIAL) have successfully completed a technical trial of a contactless international travel project in collaboration with the International Air Transport Association (IATA). The demonstration was conducted at Kempegowda International Airport Bengaluru, encompassing the entire travel flow from ticketing and booking management through to a biometric‑enabled airport journey.

IndiGo described the exercise as the first initiative of its kind in India within IATA’s global campaign aimed at validating proof‑of‑concepts (PoCs) for contactless international travel in key international markets.

The trial at Bengaluru airport integrated digital identity and biometric technology to enable passengers to move through the airport with minimal physical touchpoints or document handling. From check‑in and security to boarding, the process was designed to rely on digital credentials and biometric verification rather than conventional paper‑based or manual checks.

IndiGo stated that this PoC marks a significant step toward a fully implemented contactless travel environment and signals the beginning of the next phase of digital air travel in India.

Earlier this year, IndiGo and the Digital Travel Foundation had already deployed an advanced self‑sovereign identity (SSI)‑based ecosystem at the airport, using biometric technology for contactless processing of passengers.

Building on that success, the airline and the foundation have now extended the same model to international travel in partnership with BIAL and IATA. The trial showcased the scalability and functional utility of the technology, demonstrating how seamless, biometric‑enabled journeys can be extended beyond domestic routes to cross‑border flights.

As part of the initiative, IndiGo implemented an app‑to‑app integration that allows boarding passes to be shared easily between its mobile applications, streamlining the passenger experience and reducing the need for multiple physical or emailed tickets. The airline noted that this integration, when combined with biometric identity verification, simplifies the boarding process and enhances security by reducing impersonation and document‑fraud risks.

Nitin Chopra, IndiGo’s Chief Digital and Information Officer, said the airline remains committed to shaping the future of travel through innovation and customer‑centric solutions.

“These successful technical trials clearly demonstrate the potential—and scalability—of using digital identity and biometric technologies to deliver a smooth, contactless experience at airports,” he said.

“We are pleased to have taken this initiative from a conceptual stage to a live trial in partnership with IATA, Digital Travel and BIAL, and we hope it will play a key role in the evolution of global air travel.”

Industry observers see the Bengaluru trial as a model that could soon be replicated at other Indian and international airports, paving the way for a standards‑based, interoperable contactless travel environment aligned with IATA’s broader global roadmap for digital and biometric identity in aviation.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar