Passengers flying out of Indian airports will reportedly no longer be required to carry a physical boarding pass as immigration authorities have decided to do away with the stamping of this document from September 1. Instead, passengers travelling abroad will have to produce an e-boarding on their smartphone for immigration clearance. But then what happens to passengers who do not have smartphones? A large number of Goans travel to destinations in the Gulf, where they may be employed. Not every passenger is necessarily digitally confident, and not everyone may own a smartphone capable of displaying an e-boarding pass. The physical stamp on a boarding pass provides a tangible record that can be retained by the passenger. What happens, for instance, if a passenger loses the phone on which the boarding pass was displayed? What if the phone battery dies at the airport? A migrant worker returning to Goa after several years, for example, may need documentary proof of a previous journey for an official, legal, employment or immigration-related purpose. Will there be a mechanism through which that person can obtain an authenticated copy of their departure record?
ADELMO FERNANDES, Vasco
