- India will test Digi Yatra for international departures at five airports from October to December twenty twenty-six.
- The pilot will use e-passports and facial matching for terminal entry, security, and possibly boarding gates.
- Domestic Digi Yatra has already handled more than forty-five million journeys across twenty-four airports.
India plans to test Digi Yatra for international departures at five airports between October and December 2026, starting with Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Cochin. Delhi and Mumbai are expected to be among the first locations to receive the facility.
The pilot is designed to reduce manual checks before passengers reach immigration. It will not replace immigration clearance during the initial rollout.
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The first phase will focus on the departure side of the journey. That includes entry into the terminal, security screening and potentially access to boarding gates.
Arrival processing is outside the initial plan. Immigration checks will continue under the existing process.
The government is therefore testing a narrower airport workflow first, rather than connecting every international travel checkpoint at once.
The pilot will verify travelers before immigration
The proposed system will use e-passports instead of Aadhaar-based registration, which underpins the domestic model. A traveler would scan the passport’s first page and use a phone or airport reader to access its chip through NFC.
The chip photograph would then be matched with a selfie. That process would create a digital travel ID for use during the relevant departure steps.
The planned sequence links the traveler’s passport and face before the passenger reaches immigration. It does not remove the need for the later border check.
A second official described the first locations as “less-sensitive points such as terminal entry, security, and potentially boarding gates.” The official said integration with immigration will come later after testing.
That division sets the boundary of the trial. Passengers may see fewer manual checks inside the airport, but they should still expect passport and visa checks at immigration.
Five airports are slated for the first test window
The planned pilot locations and sequence are:
- Delhi and Mumbai: likely first airports to receive the facility.
- Bengaluru: included in the first group of trial airports.
- Hyderabad: included in the international departure pilot.
- Cochin: included in the same test group.
- October–December 2026: the planned period for the trials.
The first-stage scope covers terminal entry, security and possibly boarding gates. Immigration integration and arrival-side processing are not included at the outset.
The arrangement allows the airport process to be tested before officials connect it to immigration systems. Travelers departing internationally will still need to complete the existing border formalities.
The pilot also differs from the domestic setup in how passengers establish their identity. International travelers will use the passport chip and facial matching rather than Aadhaar-based registration.
The domestic network has already handled more than 45 million journeys
The wider airport identity system has processed more than 45 million passenger journeys across 24 domestic airports and registered over 11 million users.
That domestic experience provides the operating base for the international trial. The new test applies the same broad idea to overseas departures, but with passport-chip verification and a limited set of airport touchpoints.
The international digital-travel push also includes e-boarding passes, which have been accepted at immigration counters since September 1, 2026. That change concerns the travel document presented at the counter, while the planned airport pilot concerns identity checks before and around departure processing.
Together, the measures move different parts of the journey toward digital handling. They do not yet create a single electronic process from terminal entry through immigration and arrival.
The Airports Authority of India has also announced “Yatri Seva Abhiyan 2026.” Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu is scheduled to participate, alongside Samir Kumar Sinha, Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation.
That campaign is separate from the five-airport international pilot. It reflects a broader effort by airport authorities to improve passenger services while the digital identity trial moves toward testing.
The first international travelers using the system will therefore encounter a partial change, not a replacement for border control. The departure-side checks may become more automated, while immigration remains a distinct step until later testing supports integration.
