Tata-Singapore Airlines joint venture Vistara seeks e-boarding passes for easier travel

NEW DELHI : The Tata Sons-Singapore Airlines joint venture Vistara has asked the government to allow the use of electronic boarding passes -ones sent to passengers' phones -for simpler travel.

Allowing passengers to board planes by flashing their passes on mobile phones -the way they can enter airports by showing tickets on personal electronic devices -will require doing away with the requirement of stamping boarding passes after security checks. At present, passengers have to show the stamp on their paper passes to board aircraft. “Apart from this, we are also keen on having Wi-Fi on our planes. We have asked the government to allow the provision of internet to passengers in Indian skies" Vistara chairman Prasad Menon told TOI.

“The system of stamping security check on boarding cards and hand baggage tags shows we are suspicious of technology . Like tickets on mobiles, boarding cards too should be allowed. That will simplify the process of flying," said Menon.

The aviation ministry has also been toying with the idea of allowing mobile boarding passes since last year. But like almost everything under its domain -including relaxing the rule for Indian carriers to fly abroad -the ministry is yet to take a call on it.

In fact, there are growing murmurs of dissent within the industry over the ministry's inability to take decisions within a timeframe, something which goes against the NDA government's promise of speed.