Imagine you have a twin brother or a sister. You go to a metro airport like Mumbai or Delhi and expect the latest Digi Yatra to swipe you off your feet, and give you a seamless, swift and paperless security check-in. But you are in for a shock, as Digi Yatra says – ‘Access Denied”

This is exactly what twins from Mumbai faced while using Digi-Yatra at Mumbai airport.

The twins, both registered users of Digi Yatra, tried to enter through the facial recognition-enabled gates at an airport. Instead of a quick, seamless check-in, the system displayed an error and blocked their entry. A video shared online shows one of the brothers saying the gate showed an “access denied” message, explaining that the system detected more than one person with the same face.

“I am at the airport with my twin brother. We have both registered in Digi Yatra. See the magic of Digi Yatra, it says ‘Access denied’ because more than one person was found with the same face,” one brother explained in the video. The duo eventually had to join the regular queue, losing the fast-track convenience they had signed up for. His brother joked that they might have “identified a bug” in the system.

While the incident may seem like a technical failure, experts suggest it could actually reflect a built-in safety feature. Facial recognition systems are designed to prevent identity overlap, impersonation, or misuse. When two faces are extremely similar, the system may deliberately deny access rather than risk a false match.

Digi Yatra responded quickly after the video went viral, reaching out to the users for assistance and clarifying the situation.

Social media erupted with a humorous take on the incident, with one user saying, "Sita and Gita were not included in the training model for this AI."

"Bachpan me hum confuse hote the, ab digi yatra ho gaya hai. Can't blame them. Else one of you can put a black mole on your cheek. Like apna purana hindi movies," another user joked.

"System is doing the right thing by flagging anomaly in data point (your faces) and sending you for manual verification at the counter," a third user added.

This incident also highlights some challenges faced by Digi Yatra beyond identical twins:

1. System Sensitivity: Highly sensitive facial recognition can mistakenly flag users who look similar, like family members or people with minor facial change,s leading to inconvenience.

2. Technical Glitches: As with any automated system, occasional software errors, lighting conditions, or camera misalignment can affect accuracy.

3. User Registration Issues: Errors during the initial registration, such as poor-quality photos or mismatched data, can prevent smooth access later.

4. Privacy Concerns: Storing facial data raises questions about security and consent. Users may be wary of how their biometric information is used or shared.

5. Infrastructure Readiness: Busy airports require highly reliable systems. Even small delays or misreads can create queues, frustrating passengers who expected faster travel.

While Digi Yatra promises streamlined and touchless travel, incidents like this show that technology still has limitations, especially when confronted with real-world human variations. The twin brothers’ experience serves as a reminder that automation can simplify travel, but it may not yet be foolproof for every passenger.