To Ease Congestion At Airports, India To Soon Launch ‘Trusted Traveller Programme’

The Government of India is set to launch a "Trusted Traveller Programme" for travellers with Indian passports.

The move is aimed at decongesting airports by speeding up immigration checks while departing and arriving.

The programme would allow quick immigration clearances for reverified travellers and would start on a pilot basis at the Delhi and Mumbai airports this year. It would eventually implemented at 15 airports by 2027 and all airports by 2032.

Three electronic gates, two for arrival and one for the departure passengers have already been established at the Indira Gandhi airport in New Delhi. Trials are however yet to commence, reports said.

"The idea is to make the immigration clearance process simpler and quicker with the help of technology. The United States' department of homeland security has a similar Global Entry Program, which allows for expedited security and immigration clearance of pre-approved, low-risk travellers," a Home Ministry official told Hindustan Times.

All the modalities are being worked out. The modalities include how passports would be stamped, as they are done when someone enters or exits India via any of the immigration checkpoints.

The Ministry of Home Affairs is already in talks with the Civil Aviation Ministry and has prepared a roadmap for the Trusted Traveller Programme."

The decision has been taken as the Indian airports are already under strain. Last year several passengers had complained about the congestion especially at the Delhi airport.