Passengers relying on the DigiYatra facial recognition system for seamless airport entry encountered significant disruptions and chaos at major Indian airports on Tuesday. Users reported technical failures at Terminal 1 of both Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport and Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport, leading to confusion and delays.
Passengers Report System Failures and Confusion
On social media platform X, user Vikas Khemani highlighted a major issue at Mumbai Airport's Terminal 1. He reported that the DigiYatra system, designed for contactless entry, was failing to recognize registered faces. The app incorrectly displayed a message stating the passenger was "already late for flight" despite the flight being scheduled 1.5 hours later. Khemani tagged the official DigiYatra account, urging immediate attention to the chaos.
A similar complaint emerged from Delhi Airport. A user named 'Deeps' posted that DigiYatra was not working for flights destined for Navi Mumbai (NMI) at Delhi's Terminal 1. The user tagged several authorities including the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Airports Authority of India, Delhi Airport, and former aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, seeking a resolution.
Official Responses and Clarifications
Both DigiYatra and Delhi Airport responded to the complaints on X. The DigiYatra team asked Vikas Khemani to share detailed feedback and a screenshot of the error via direct message so the issue could be reviewed and forwarded to the concerned team. The exact nature of the technical glitch was not immediately clear.
Delhi Airport, in a separate reply, expressed regret for the inconvenience caused to the other passenger and requested flight details and contact number via DM to investigate the matter.
DigiYatra also provided a crucial clarification regarding Navi Mumbai International Airport. The service stated that DigiYatra services are currently not enabled at the new Navi Mumbai airport, as the rollout is being implemented in a phased manner. They assured users that expansion plans are underway.
Earlier Incident: Facial Recognition Fails with Identical Twins
The Tuesday incidents followed another notable glitch reported just a day earlier at Mumbai Airport. An Instagram user shared a video where the DigiYatra system denied access to him and his identical twin brother. The system failed to distinguish between them, displaying an 'Access denied' message with the reason 'more than one person found with the same face.'
The video garnered significant attention online, with users making humorous comments about the artificial intelligence's limitations. DigiYatra responded to this post as well, acknowledging the issue and reaching out to the user via direct message for further assistance.
These consecutive reports of malfunctions raise questions about the reliability and scalability of the biometric-based travel system during peak travel times. While the initiative aims to digitize and streamline passenger processing, such technical hiccups underscore the challenges in implementing nationwide digital infrastructure.
