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.