No firm plan to introduce biometric system for boarding planes says Union minister Jayant Sinha

There is "no firm plan" to introduce a biometric system for boarding planes, Union minister Jayant Sinha said in the Rajya Sabha today. The statement comes a month after the Ministry of Civil Aviation said within three to four months, it would be mandatory for air travellers in the country to provide unique identification (UID) like Aadhaar card, passport or PAN, at the time of booking tickets.The plan mooted last month emphasised that those who opt for biometric identification through Aadhaar would be able to zip through the airport faster through iris and finger scans, compared to passengers who use other forms of digital identification."There is no firm proposal for introduction of biometric system for boarding flights in the country," Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha said in response to a question. The minister also said that a new set of rules or Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR) will be prepared by the government which will state that a UID is a mandatory requirement at the time of booking a flight ticket.In June, Sinha had told reporters that the government had started work on the technical framework for a system to digitally link unique IDs to the PNR of the airline. The initiative is called Digiyatra. A survey of passengers showed that air travelers were satisfied with biometric identification technologies deployed in airports, but were concerned about privacy.With inputs from PTI