The Strategist

IATA launches international travel passport programme



03/18/2021 - 02:49



The first passenger with a digital Travel Pass has arrived at London Heathrow Airport, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has announced.



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The Travel Pass holder arrived on a Singapore Airlines flight from Singapore. The programme aims to make travel more affordable and safer in the face of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

"Today's success is a big win in many ways. It gives travellers a universal tool to help them comply with the new travel regulations," IATA quoted its CEO Alexandre de Juniac as saying.

IATA Travel Pass uploads data on a user's vaccination, coronavirus testing, presence or absence of antibodies and other information. IATA Travel Pass also allows travellers to obtain essential information on the requirements for travelling to a particular country, find data on testing and vaccination centres and obtain a certificate of testing and or vaccination. For now, the app is only available on Singapore-London flights.

Plans to launch the IATA programme were announced in February 2021. By then, Air New Zealand, Copa Airlines, Etihad Airways, Emirates, Qatar Airways, Malaysia Airlines, RwandAir and Singapore Airlines expressed a desire to participate. According to IATA, the programme will stimulate a recovery in air traffic.

source: iata.org