No physical boarding pass required for immigration at Indian airports from September 1

International passengers departing from Indian airports will no longer be required to carry a physical boarding pass or get it stamped at immigration counters from September 1, as the Bureau of Immigration (BOI) moves to accept electronic boarding passes for immigration clearance.

Under the new system, passengers travelling abroad can display their e-boarding passes on smartphones at immigration counters. Physical boarding passes will continue to be accepted, but immigration officials will no longer stamp them.

The decision follows a directive issued by the BOI, under the Ministry of Home Affairs, to airport authorities across the country.

Officials said the BOI reviewed the existing practice and found that the mandatory use and stamping of physical boarding passes was causing inconvenience to international travellers. In some cases, incorrectly or improperly stamped boarding passes also created difficulties in reading the documents.

Following the review, the immigration authorities decided to discontinue the mandatory requirement for physical boarding passes and end the practice of stamping them at immigration counters at international airports.

The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), which handles passenger security screening at airports, does not stamp boarding passes during the frisking of international passengers. The practice of CISF stamping boarding passes for domestic and international passengers was discontinued several years ago.

The latest move is aimed at simplifying immigration procedures and increasing the use of digital systems in passenger processing.

Meanwhile, the government is also examining a pilot project to do away with immigration entry and exit stamps for Indian passport holders. Officials said the system could be expanded to airports across the country after the pilot project is assessed.

In a separate development, the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) on Friday revised downward the User Development Fee (UDF) at Bengaluru's Kempegowda International Airport for the five-year control period ending March 2031.

Under the revised structure, the UDF has been fixed at Rs 300 for domestic passengers and Rs 997 for international passengers.

For the first time, AERA has implemented the incremental Average Revenue Requirement (ARR) framework. Under the system, costs incurred by the Bengaluru airport operator on major capital expenditure projects can be recovered from passengers only after the projects are completed.