Kolkata Airport Descends into Chaos as Digi Yatra System Crashes
Hundreds of air travelers were subjected to extensive delays and serpentine queues at Kolkata's Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport on Sunday. The disruption stemmed from a prolonged technical failure in the Digi Yatra facial recognition system, which crippled automated entry and security checks from the early morning through the afternoon hours.
Biometric Gates Fail, Forcing Manual Verification
Frequent flyers, who typically rely on the biometric-based Digi Yatra for seamless movement from terminal entry to boarding gates, found the automated gates completely unresponsive. The system repeatedly failed to capture or authenticate the faces of registered users. Following what officials described as a "glitch in the central server," e-gates refused to open, forcing airport authorities to redirect all passengers to conventional counters for physical verification of boarding passes and identity documents.
This sudden shift triggered significant congestion at manual checkpoints, with passenger movement slowing to a crawl. The disruption reportedly began around 6:00 AM and intensified as morning rush hour traffic swelled. Airport officials confirmed that while a handful of users managed to pass through the system in the initial hours, the situation deteriorated rapidly when "almost all gates crashed together" during peak travel times.
Social Media Flooded with Passenger Complaints
The malfunction persisted through late morning, leaving many passengers anxious about missing their flights. Social media platforms were inundated with complaints from frustrated travelers.
"Horrible situation at Kolkata airport. None of the Digi Yatra gates are working. Was misguided and waste of time. People panicked due to fear of missing flights. CISF was of no help," posted a passenger named Arti on the platform X.
Another flyer, Vishnu Mohan, expressed his disappointment: "Kolkata airport Digi Yatra gates are the worst and not even working. We have such a great feature to make travel seamless but then airports like this take down the reputation."
Even after partial restoration around 2:00 PM, numerous passengers reported continued difficulties with facial scanning. The system either failed to recognize registered users or declined to retrieve passenger data linked to their boarding passes, indicating ongoing instability.
Official Acknowledges Server Malfunction
A senior airport official directly attributed the widespread disruption to a malfunction in the central server supporting the Digi Yatra infrastructure. "There was a technical glitch in the central server. The moment we learnt about the problem, we escalated the matter. By afternoon, the situation started getting better. But we admit there were problems in the morning peak hour," the official stated.
Digi Yatra's Promise Versus Sunday's Reality
Introduced at Kolkata airport in 2023 as part of the Centre's digital aviation initiative, Digi Yatra is designed to offer a seamless, paperless airport experience using facial recognition technology. The system, available at terminal entry gates, security checkpoints, and boarding gates for domestic departures, allows passengers to bypass manual document checks by scanning their faces at dedicated kiosks.
To use the facility, travelers must:
- Download the Digi Yatra application.
- Complete Aadhaar-based KYC verification.
- Upload their boarding pass details.
Once registered, their biometric credentials authenticate identity at multiple airport points, significantly reducing wait times. However, Sunday's systemic failure completely neutralized this advantage. With all biometric lanes inoperative, every passenger was required to undergo manual document checks by Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel, resulting in painfully slow passenger processing and extensive queues.
"Digi Yatra not functioning at Kolkata Airport, leading to chaos and long queues. No clarity, no crowd management. We speak of Viksit Bharat, AI and technology stack, but where is basic reliability?" lamented another passenger online, highlighting the gap between technological ambition and on-ground execution.
The incident raises serious questions about the reliability and redundancy of critical digital infrastructure at major Indian airports, especially during peak travel periods.
