Domestic airlines cancelled 7,030 scheduled flights this year till May 31, according to the civil aviation ministry.

The carriers are to operate 4,56,919 scheduled departures in 2024, as per the data submitted by the ministry to the Rajya Sabha on Monday.

In a written reply, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol said 6,413 flights were cancelled in 2022. The count rose to 7,427 in 2023.

This year till May 31, the number of cancellations stood at 7,030.

To a query about Digi Yatra, the minister said it is planned to be introduced at the airports across the country in a phased manner.

Since its launch, more than 2.5 crore air travellers have used Digi Yatra -- which is based on Facial Recognition Technology (FRT). It provides for contactless, seamless movement of passengers at various check points at airports.

"All the passenger data is encrypted and stored in the passenger's smartphone wallet and shared only for a limited time duration with the origin airport where passenger ID needs to be validated. The data is purged from the system after 24 hours of the departure of the flight," the minister said.

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