Center issues directive to prevent tailgating at airport e-gates

Center issues directive to prevent tailgating at airport e-gates

Subject: Schemes

Section: Economy

Context:

The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) has asked airports and airlines to use better technology and assign more manpower resources to prevent passengers from tailgating through automatic gates at various check-points.

What is tailgating (piggybacking)?

• Tailgating, sometimes referred to as piggybacking, is a type of physical security breach in which an unauthorized person follows an authorized individual to enter secured premises.
• Tailgating is one of the simplest forms of a social engineering attack.
•  It is an easy way for an unauthorized party to get around security mechanisms that are assumed to be secure

More on news:

• The government directive follows two serious security breaches within a span of 10 days in February, when ticketless travelers were able to enter the passenger building at Mumbai airport and even enter the boarding gate.
• Digi Yatra, a biometric-based boarding system, which allows passengers to use their facial scan as a ticket, has been rolled out at 13 airports so far and 24 more airports will get the facility in 2024.
• E-gate manufacturers have been asked to improve their technology to ensure that two passengers cannot pass through them at the same time.

About Digi Yatra:

• The project is being implemented by the DigiYatra Foundation — a joint-venture company whose shareholders are the Airports Authority of India (26% stake) and Bengaluru Airport, Delhi Airport, Hyderabad Airport, Mumbai Airport and Cochin International Airport hold the remaining 74% of the shares.
• In the first phase, the initiative will be launched at seven airports, starting with three —Delhi, Bengaluru, and Varanasi, followed by four airports namely Hyderabad, Kolkata, Pune, and Vijayawada by March 2023.
• The facial recognition system at various airports across the globe, including Dubai, Singapore, Atlanta and Narita (Japan), have helped bring in efficiency.

Key features of the initiative and how it works–

• Centralized registration system for passengers and each of them would get a unique ID on booking the tickets
• ID can be created by sharing name, e-mail id, mobile number and details of any identity proof, including Aadhaar
• The airline would share the passenger data and the ID with the airport from where the passenger would be flying out
• Optionally linking of Aadhaar to airlines at the time of booking for faster airport entry and automated check-ins without requiring any paper-based interventions
• A biometrics-based digital processing system for passenger entry and related requirements at the airport
• Voluntary for passengers on whether to opt for facial recognition biometric for air travel
• The Digi Yatra platform would be operational by February 2019
• Will be available at major airports in the country
• Real-time notifications about congestion and delays of flights
• Passengers would be notified when their luggage reaches the baggage claim belt.