On July 18th, 2024, the Software Freedom Law Centre, India (SFLC.in) wrote to the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) and DGCA India about concerns regarding the implementation of the Digi Yatra in several Indian airports. Since January of this year, it has been widely reported that passengers are either being forced into or unknowingly enrolled in Digi Yatra. Passengers have further faced difficulties in case they opt out of Digi Yatra enrollment or are inconvenienced due to the limited availability of non-Digi Yatra gates at the Airports.
Compelling passengers to mandatorily register for Digi Yatra under the pretext that it is mandated under law is wholly misleading as well as illegal. In fact, MoCA has specifically reiterated that Digi Yatra is a purely voluntary scheme and that it does not mandate registration from passengers and condition their entry into the airport based on sharing of their facial biometrics for enrollment.
This obviates the voluntary nature of the scheme- as specified in the Digi Yatra Biometric Boarding System Policy, the Digi Yatra Privacy Policy, and the reply from the Ministry of Civil Aviation to a Right to Information application.
SFLC.in urged the MoCA and DGCA to look into the enrollment practices mandating Digi Yatra for passengers across airports in India to ensure strict compliance with the voluntary nature of the facility. Protecting the personal and sensitive personal data of passengers is of foremost priority in today’s data-driven environment.
Read the full letter here:
1. Letter to the MoCA:
2. Letter to DGCA:
