Centre’s Digi Yatra enrolment takes off as airport security staff sign up flyers without their consent

Next time you visit an Indian airport, beware of security personnel and private staff at the entry gate of passenger buildings who may be collecting your facial biometrics without your knowledge or consent. However, Mr. Pattanayak soon realised that passengers in his line were also being requested to look into a camera, following which the CISF personnel would click a button on the screen to give consent on their behalf for a one-time sign up for Digi Yatra. One-time sign-ups A spokesperson for the Central Industrial Security Force claimed that “private airport staff are collecting facial biometrics at various kiosks outside the passenger building, but CISF personnel are not involved in this exercise”. A Delhi airport official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, contradicted this statement, saying, “Our staff are assisting CISF personnel in carrying out validation, and we have now briefed our teams at entry gates to ensure passengers are educated and consent sought from them.” Suresh Khadakbhavi, CEO of the Digi Yatra Foundation, said that enrollments to the app have been ramped up since the December peak travel season by deploying scanners with CISF personnel as well as separate kiosks manned by airport staff for a one-time sign up of passengers on the day of travel. Hard to avoid Soumya Jayanti was traveling through Delhi airport on December 26, when she says she had to circumvent multiple hurdles to avoid being enrolled into Digi Yatra in a “coercive and deceptive manner”.