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The Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) here has become the first airport in India to implement an end-to-end e-boarding process, though on a pilot basis, spanning a three-month duration from April.
Once a passenger books her flight ticket, s/he gets an SMS from the airline 24 hours before the date of journey informing about the e-boarding option. Those interested in availing the facility do a web check-in and receive a Unique Mobile Pass and a QR Code on their registered mobile phone.
On the day of travel, the passenger has to scan the QR Code in the e-boarding machine at the entry gate of the departure area and enters the Aadhaar card number followed by fingerprint scan on the system.
After electronic verification, the passenger gets inside the terminal. Those with cabin baggage head directly for security check; others drop their check-in baggage at regular check-in counters.
The passenger proceeds to a dedicated security check lane called e-Gate to scan the mobile pass/e-boarding pass and then moves for a formal security check. This process further saves time, as in absence of regular boarding pass and bag tags, stamping is not required on any document.
At the time of boarding, the passenger gets the e-boarding pass scanned for the last time and boards the flight.
From entry into the terminal, to boarding the aircraft, a passenger need to only use their e-boarding card. Movement through this channels ensures that the passenger’s movements are tracked electronically (with timestamp) and through dedicated HD CCTV cameras at each of these checkpoints.
With e-boarding, the airline and Aadhaar database is integrated using scanning devices at various touch points. Further, there is a flexibility to follow the traditional process of showing a photo-id in case Aadhaar number is not available.
“e-boarding reduces human interface and takes a big leap towards automation, easing the movement of passengers through the airport and reducing the waiting time at various check points within the airport..,” SGK Kishore, CEO of GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited, stated in a release.
Mumbai, Bengaluru and Delhi airports too have initiated e-boarding pilot using scanners and e-gates. Teams from Bengaluru and Delhi Airport recently visited Hyderabad airport to witness the e-boarding process and have adopted several technical and process related aspects, it said.
