New Rule for Indian Air Travelers: No More Physical Boarding Cards Required
Starting September 1, travelers flying in and out of India will no longer need to show a physical boarding card at immigration checkpoints. Instead, they can present their electronic boarding passes. This update, announced by the Bureau of Immigration, aims to make international travel smoother, especially as e-passports become more widely used.
Deepak Yadav, a senior official in the Foreigners Regional Registration Office in Delhi, noted that currently, immigration officers stamp boarding passes after clearing passengers. However, this process has been problematic, leading to some confusion and errors with stamped boarding passes.
The new system will still allow the use of physical boarding passes, but they won’t receive a stamp at immigration counters. Yadav emphasized that the change is intended to improve the experience for travelers, reducing hassle and the potential for mistakes.
KV Singh, the Junior Union Minister for External Affairs, shared in Parliament that efforts are ongoing to enhance the security features of e-chip passports. This includes integrating them with the Immigration, Visa, Foreigners Registration, and Tracking (IVFRT) system to facilitate better management at immigration points across India’s international airports.
This development marks a significant step toward modernizing the travel experience for passengers moving through India’s busy airports.
