Emirates Airline, Etihad Airways, Jazeera Airways, Jetstar, Qantas, Qatar Airways and Royal Jordanian will roll out the IATA Travel Pass in phases. Photo Credit: IATA
After 11 months of extensive trials by 76 airlines, the IATA Travel
Pass will go 'live' in phased roll outs through these six airlines:
Emirates Airline, Etihad Airways, Jazeera Airways, Jetstar, Qantas,
Qatar Airways and Royal Jordanian.
For Emirates, the roll-out across some 120 destinations is expected
to be completed by October 2020, while Qantas and Jetstar prepare to
carry Australia-based passengers on their first flights out in some 18
months come November.
“After months of testing, IATA Travel Pass is now entering the
operational phase. The app has proven itself to be an effective tool to
manage the complex mess of travel health credentials that governments
require. And it’s a great vote of confidence that some of the world’s
best known airline brands will be making it available to their customers
over the coming months,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.
Travellers will be able to put their Covid test or proof of
vaccination in their phones, which can be scanned and shared with health
officials and airlines prior to departure.
Since its first international trial in March with Singapore Airlines,
the mobile app now manages vaccine certificates from 52 countries, and
this number will increase to 74 — or 85% of global traffic — by the end
of November.
The digital passport also allows travellers to add flight details,
which then provides relevant travel and health requirements at arrival
destinations.
All data will be saved and encrypted in phones, instead of in a central database, for privacy concerns.
These digitalised solutions are hoped to support travel's comeback,
by better managing the queuing and congestion for document checks — to
the benefit of travellers, airlines, airports and governments.
Source: Travel Weekly Asia