Flying Abroad from India? This Airport Routine Is About to Disappear

Your passport is in your hand. Your ticket is on your phone. Your bags are checked in. Now, there is just one more step — immigration.

You reach the immigration counter. The officer checks your passport and boarding pass. After a few seconds, they stamp the boarding pass. You take it back and move ahead. For years, this has been a normal part of international travel.

But this familiar scene is about to change.

From September 1, international passengers flying out of India will no longer have to carry a printed boarding pass for immigration clearance. They also will not need to get their boarding pass stamped at the immigration counter.

So, what should you show instead?

Your mobile phone.

Under the new system, passengers can simply show their e-boarding pass on their phone during immigration. The digital boarding pass will be accepted for the process.

Until now, international passengers usually had to show both their passport and boarding pass at immigration. After checking the passenger’s details, immigration officers would sometimes stamp the boarding pass.

That step is now being removed.

The change is expected to make the immigration process faster and easier. Passengers will also no longer have to worry about whether the stamp is clear or correctly placed on the boarding pass.

However, there is one important point to remember. You can still carry a printed boarding pass if you want. There is no rule stopping passengers from carrying a paper copy. But the boarding pass will not be stamped during immigration.

How do you get a boarding pass on your phone?

It is quite simple.

Go to your airline’s website and select the Web Check-in option. Enter your PNR number, mobile number or email address as required.

Then complete the check-in process and select your seat. Once check-in is completed, your boarding pass will be generated.

You can download it directly to your phone. Some airlines may also send the e-boarding pass through email or WhatsApp.

So, if you are travelling abroad from India after September 1, it is a good idea to download your boarding pass to your phone before reaching the airport. You can simply show it on your screen when required.

Airports are slowly moving away from paper-based processes and adopting digital systems. Now, that change is reaching one more familiar part of international travel — the boarding pass at the immigration counter.

—Surya Prakash Josyula