Digi Yatra Shutdown at Surat Airport Sparks Passenger Confusion

Surat | Gujarat — In an unexpected and surprising development, Digi Yatra services at Surat Airport were abruptly shut down from Friday afternoon, creating confusion for passengers and raising questions over the airport authority’s preparedness.

According to sources, the entire team of “Digi Buddies”—the trained personnel deployed to help passengers use the Digi Yatra system—has stopped reporting to duty. These staff members played a key role in guiding new users, resolving QR code or scanning issues, and ensuring smooth adoption of the new digital check-in system. With their sudden withdrawal, the Digi Yatra facility has come to a complete standstill.

The shutdown comes even before the service was formally inaugurated at Surat Airport.

Payment Dispute Behind the Shutdown?

A few days ago, reports had surfaced that the contractor handling Digi Yatra operations had not received payment from the airport authority. The reason cited was the contractor’s inability to provide a valid GST number, due to which the airport authority reportedly withheld all dues.

With payments pending for months, the contractor’s staff had been raising concerns repeatedly. Today, the situation escalated, leading to a complete non-attendance of Digi Buddies, effectively forcing a shutdown of the system.

Passengers Left Without Support

With no on-ground assistance available, passengers who attempted to use the Digi Yatra gates were left stranded and confused. Many first-time users depend heavily on these facilitators to understand the face-authentication process and troubleshoot scanning problems.

Airport officials have not issued any formal notification or clarification so far, leaving travellers uncertain about when services will resume.

Service Closed Before Being Officially Launched

Ironically, the Digi Yatra facility at Surat Airport had not yet been officially inaugurated. The pre-launch trial phase had been continuing for several weeks, during which thousands of passengers experienced the convenience of the contactless, paperless check-in system.

However, with today’s abrupt collapse of manpower support, the system has been completely disabled. All entry gates and scanners linked to Digi Yatra were reportedly locked down from noon onward.

Urgent Need for Clarity and Accountability

The sudden disruption without any public communication has drawn criticism from frequent fliers and aviation observers. They allege that the airport administration failed to plan and manage the contractor relationship responsibly, resulting in unnecessary inconvenience for passengers.

With Surat being one of the fastest-growing aviation hubs in the country, stakeholders argue that Digi Yatra is essential to handle increasing passenger traffic efficiently. For such an important digital facility to be shut down even before its formal launch raises serious concerns about management and coordination at the airport.

Passengers and citizens are now awaiting an official statement from Surat Airport Authority regarding the timeline for restoring services and resolving the contractor dispute.