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The aviation industry is developing a mobile app for passengers to show COVID-19 vaccinations and coronavirus status prior to travel.
The global airline lobby IATA is working on a mobile app that will help travelers prove their coronavirus-free status, joining the push to introduce so-called Covid passports as vaccines for the pending disease.
The Travel Pass will show test results along with proof of the inoculation, as well as list national entry rules and details on the nearest labs, the International Air Transport Association said Monday. The app will also link to an electronic copy of the holder’s passport to prove his identity.
A testing program will begin with British Airways’ parent company IAG SA this year before arriving on Apple devices in the first quarter and Android from April, IATA said. Travelers will be able to share their status with border authorities or present a QR code for scanning.
Qantas Airways Ltd. said on Monday that a Covid-19 vaccination will be a necessity for its international passengers. Chief Executive Alan Joyce told Channel 9 in Australia that he has discussed the idea with other airlines, and it is likely to become a requirement for worldwide boarding.
“It will be a common theme across the board,” Joyce said.
Airlines globally have suffered huge losses from the coronavirus [Bloomberg]
As international travel remains in doldrums amid a patchwork of local restrictions and blockades, countries are beginning to accept tests to shorten or eliminate quarantines for arriving passengers. The first vaccines should meanwhile be available in the coming months. This prompted a series of technology-driven moves to devise mechanisms to monitor travelers’ Covid credentials and combat the false claims of people desperately trying to fly.
IATA’s head of passenger and safety products, Alan Murray Hayden, said in a briefing that the group’s goal is to get people back on the air and that he would be happy to work alongside other suppliers.
[Bloomberg]
Travel Pass will be free for travelers and governments, with airlines paying a small fee per passenger to use the service. It will build on the long-existing Timatic IATA system used to verify documents. The app will use blockchain technology and won’t store any data, Murray Hayden said.
The industry group has had positive discussions with a government about using the software and expects other nations to join on board, he said.
More apps
Although the IATA plan remains in development, the CommonPass app developed by the World Economic Forum and the non-profit organization Commons Project Foundation has been tested on flights between London and New York, while the security company’s AOKpass International SOS travel is in use between Abu Dhabi and Pakistan.
Both are on course for the upcoming Hong Kong-Singapore travel bubble, according to the companies.
United Airlines, which is conducting US-UK trials, said on Monday it would extend Covid testing to flights from Houston to destinations in Latin America and the Caribbean. Passengers can take a self-collected mail test, which allows them to start their vacation or meetings immediately upon arrival.
The race to set a global standard and implement technology so the travel industry can get back on its feet, International SOS co-founder Arnaud Vaissie said in an interview.
“There is massive pent-up demand,” he said. There is also “an enormous fear of travel and this is what we are trying to mitigate”.
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