• NEWS
    • SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWS
    • ADVERTISE WITH US
  • EVENTS
    • THIRSTY THURSDAY
      • MEMBER PORTAL
    • VIDEOS
    • PHOTOS
    • TRAINING
    • CONFERENCES
  • JOBS
    • FOR JOB SEEKER
    • FOR EMPLOYER
  • COMMUNITY
    • SEARCH PEOPLE
      • Create a profile now
    • SEARCH COMPANIES
      • Create a profile now
  • EVERYTHING TD
    • About TD (Travel Daily Media)
    • Advertise with TD
    • What is Native Content?
    • Executive team
      • Gary (Founder/CEO)
      • Chris (GM & Managing Editor)
      • Mali (Finance Mgr)
    • Content team
      • Kristin (Senior Editor)
      • Megha (Editor)
      • Joe (Guest writer)
      • Thakorn (Video)
    • Sales team
      • Anthony (Director-AU)
      • Mark (BDM-Thailand)
      • Beth (BDM-HKG/China)
      • Devapriya (BDM-India & ME)
      • Jay (BDM-India & ME)
      • Linzi (BDM-UK/Europe)
      • Maxine (BDM-UK/Europe)
      • Samie (BDM-USA)
  • SELF SERVICE
    • 2022 TD Media Kit
    • Self Service portal
    • Submit Press Release
    • Upload your Travel Blog
    • List your Event with TD

Travel Daily Travel Daily - Informing, connecting and developing the world’s travel industry professionals.

  • MARKETS/SECTORS
  • FEATURES
    • Partner Articles
      • Airlines / Airports
      • Car Rental
      • Conferences
      • Cruising (Ocean)
      • Cruising (River)
      • Destination Management (DMC)
      • GDS / CRS
      • Hotels & Resorts
      • Hotel Technology
      • HR / Appointments
      • Insurance
      • Meetings, Incentives, Conferencing, Exhibitions (MICE)
      • Travel Agents (all)
      • Travel Software Platforms
      • Tourism Boards
    • Interviews
    • Industry appointments
    • Travel Bloggers
    • Podcasts – Features
    • Podcasts – Daily News
  • TRAVEL GUIDES
    • จุดหมายปลายทาง นาจอมเทียน หาดบ้านอำเภอ บางเสร่ *NEW*
    • Destination NaJomtien BanAmphur BangSaray *NEW*
    • South Australia Rewards Wonders *NEW*
    • Ponant Yacht Cruises and Expeditions
    • Encore Tickets (Chinese Guide)
    • Affordable Luxury in Thailand by Centara Hotels
      • GDS / CRS
    • Rising Above the Oridinary by Conrad Bangkok
    • The Best of Thailand
  • MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS
    • Investor/Buyer wanted
    • Business for sale
    • About TD Consulting
    • News
  • IWTA
    • Who is IWTA
    • Meet our featured leaders
    • IWTA Awards
    • Nominate Someone
    • Nominate yourself
Travel Daily
Airports & AviationReopening updatesAirlines

Health passport app to roll out with 20 airlines

By Joe Cusmano On Feb 23, 2021
TD Guest Writer

Guest Writers are not employed, compensated or governed by TD, opinions and statements are from the specific writer directly

Share

Around 20 airlines will from March begin trialling an IATA app that allows passengers to securely store and share the Covid-19 vaccine and test records they need to travel internationally.

Will health apps be crucial to convincing governments to reopen borders?

The industry body announced its digital health passport in November and believes it will be a vital tool in convincing governments to unlock their borders and allowing “seamless” journeys as flying picks up again.

IATA is working at “full capacity” to roll out the Travel Pass and talking to “30 to 40” other airlines about adopting its “digital platform for passengers”, says head of passenger and security products, Alan Hayden.

“Our priority is to start the aviation system again safely,” he told a 9 February webinar hosted by IATA and the World Aviation Festival. “This way we can show governments that it’s safe to travel.”

IATA is not marketing the product directly to consumers, but rather encouraging airlines to incorporate the technology into their own customer apps. It will contain information on what tests, vaccines and other measures passengers require before travel to various destinations; a means of recording their health status; and, importantly, an internationally consistent and simple way of conveying that to airline and immigration officials.

IATA’s is one of several similar initiatives where an app effectively serves as a health passport. They include CommonPass, which is backed by the Rockefeller Foundation and was tested at London’s Heathrow Airport late last year.

Emirates and Etihad are among the airlines that have earlier confirmed they will adopt the Travel Pass app. Other airline executives on the webinar panel were enthusiastic about its potential.

Brad Moore, senior vice-president of ground services at Qatar Airways, said the IATA product was a “simple app that passengers can use to travel freely” and would be “central to us going forward”.

Hao Yu Dai, divisional vice-president digital for Singapore Airlines, said governments needed to “open borders, but in a calibrated way”. As soon as demand began to return, a globally-recognised “digital solution” was required to avoid delays because passengers’ health status would need to be verified at check-in.

Moore noted that, at present, checks were having to be done manually by airline staff. “It’s incredibly time-consuming,” he said. “If passengers have advance notice of what is required, they simply put the information in the app and turn up at the counter. They can travel with a lot more confidence.”

IATA’s Hayden said airlines already had experience of ensuring that passengers are compliant with border control rules with systems such as Timatic, which is used by airlines and agents to validate passenger travel document requirements for their destination and any transit points.

However, ever-changing COVID-19 travel protocols around the world are threatening to overload the process. Prior to the pandemic, IATA was making an average 70 changes a day to the Timatic database. Today, there are often more than 200 daily updates, he said.

The panellists expressed hope that Travel Pass and other digital health passports could speed up the transition to so-called smart journeys, avoiding queues and other delays at airports.

“Our long-term vision is that passengers can do everything using facial recognition, from check-in to accessing frequent flyer lounges to self-boarding gates,” said Hayden. “If one good thing comes out of COVID-19, it is that we will be left with the infrastructure and the mindset to move to the contactless travel experience.”

Dai said Singapore Airlines would “see this as an opportunity to redouble our efforts on digital to make the journey more seamless and our operations more efficient”.

Dai also noted that privacy concerns about such apps were unfounded because no passenger information is kept centrally. “The data is stored with the passenger and they choose to share this data when they travel,” he said.

Hayden agreed: “This is absolutely critical; there is no big brother. IATA doesn’t have access to any data. We simply facilitate the transfer of that data from the passenger’s phone.”

Panellists also dismissed worries that customers who do not use smartphones will be discriminated against if digital passports became commonplace or mandatory.

International Air Transport Association (IATA)Qatar Airways
Share
You might also like
Air

Qatar Airways and Virgin Australia launch partnership at ATM

TD Syndicated Partner

A new Future for Global Aviation Saudi Arabia Style

Air

World’s first MetaHuman cabin crew is here! Qatar Airways steps into metaverse with…

Air

Qatar Airways and IndiGo reactivate strategic cooperation

Prev Next

Comments are closed.

More Re-opening updates

  • New Zealand reopens to travellers after two years

    Portugal welcomes back Indian travellers

    Cambodia cuts quarantine period for unvaccinated travellers

    Myanmar reopens to travellers

  • Hong Kong to lift flight ban from 9 countries, including India from 1 April

    New Zealand says Kia ora world as borders reopen on 1 May

    Cambodia scraps off Covid testing requirements for foreign travellers

    Pursue happiness the Bhutanese way

  • Abu Dhabi eases COVID-19 restrictions for inbound travellers

    Hawaii to lift COVID-19 travel quarantine rules this month

    Bali to allow foreign travellers without quarantine from 14 March

    Malaysia mulls more more travel lanes with Thailand

Reopening updates

New Zealand reopens to travellers after two years

Portugal welcomes back Indian travellers

Cambodia cuts quarantine period for unvaccinated travellers

Myanmar reopens to travellers

Prev Next 1 of 155
STAY UPDATED WITH THE LATEST TRAVEL NEWS, JOBS & EVENTS!
Join over 180,000 travel agents, professionals and executives subscribed to our daily newsletter.
You can unsubscribe at any time
Klook.com

POPULAR STORIES

VIVA Cruises unveils free cabin upgrades in VIVA ONE

First Courtyard by Marriott in Central London gears up for…

Hola Barcelona! Valiant Lady arrives in Mediterranean…

ATM sees 23,000 visitors to explore future of tourism

Prev Next 1 of 4,313

IWTA STORIES

IWTA speak with Shoba Mohan – Rare India

IWTA speaks with Caroline Shen – Director of Sales &…

IWTA speaks with Captain Zephina Khanam Mohd Jasbir Khan

IWTA speaks Monika Anggreni – Captain for AirAsia Indonesia

Prev Next 1 of 7
Search
MENU
  • News
  • Events
  • Jobs
  • Community
  • Subscribe

MARKETS

  • Asia
  • Australia
  • New Zealand
  • India
  • Middle East
  • UK & Europe
  • USA

SECTOR

  • Air
  • Cruise
  • Hospitality
  • HR & Careers
  • Luxury Travel
  • MICE
  • Technology
  • Tourism
  • Travel Agents
About
  • BOOK A SALES CALL
  • About TD (Travel Daily Media)
  • Advertise with Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
© 2022 - Travel Daily. All Rights Reserved.
Subscribe to our newsletter
Sign up here to get the latest news, updates and special offers delivered directly to your inbox.
You can unsubscribe at any time
Close

Welcome, Login to your account.

Forget password?

Sign in with Google

No account? Sign Up
Sign in

Recover your password.

A password will be e-mailed to you.

LOG IN

Welcome back, Log in to your account.

Continue with Facebook
Continue with Google
Continue with Twitter
Continue with LinkedIn

OR
Log in using your email
Forgot password?
Not a member yet? SIGN UP FOR FREE
Sign in

Recover your password.

Sign in

SIGN UP FOR FREE

(New User)

Be part of our community of seasoned travel and hospitality industry professionals from all over the world.

Continue with Facebook
Continue with Google
Continue with Twitter
Continue with LinkedIn
I want to
Only letters and numbers are allowed
Please enter a valid email address
Must be between 6-8 characters
Must be the same with Password
Already have an account? LOG IN
  • LOGIN / SIGN UP
  • NEWS
    • MARKETS
      • Asia
      • China
      • Pacific
      • India
      • Middle East
      • UK & Europe
      • USA & Canada
    • SECTORS
      • Air
      • Cruise
      • Hospitality
      • HR & Careers
      • Luxury Travel
      • MICE
      • Technology
      • Tourism
      • Travel Agents
    • FEATURES
      • Partner articles
        • Airlines / Airports
        • Car Rental
        • Conferences
        • Cruising (Ocean)
        • Cruising (River)
        • Destination Management (DMC)
        • GDS / CRS
        • Hotels & Resorts
        • Hotel Technology
        • HR / Appointments
        • Insurance
        • Meetings, Incentives, Conferencing, Exhibitions (MICE)
        • Travel Agents (all)
        • Travel Software Platforms
        • Tourism Boards
      • Interviews
      • Industry appointments
      • Travel Bloggers
      • Podcasts – Features
  • EVENTS
    • Thirsty Thursday
    • Thirsty Thursday Member Portal
    • Photos
    • Videos
    • Webinars
    • Conferences
  • JOBS
    • For Job Seeker
      • Create a profile now
    • For Employer
      • Create a profile now
  • COMMUNITY
    • Search community profiles
    • Search Companies
  • TRAVEL GUIDES
    • จุดหมายปลายทาง นาจอมเทียน หาดบ้านอำเภอ บางเสร่ *NEW*
    • Destination NaJomtien BanAmphur BangSaray *NEW*
    • South Australia Reward Wonders *NEW*
    • Ponant Yacht Cruises and Expeditions
    • Encore Tickets (Chinese Guide)
    • Affordable Luxury in Thailand by Centara Hotels
    • Rising Above the Oridinary by Conrad Bangkok
    • The Best of Thailand
  • MERGERS & ACQUISITION
    • Buyers/Investors wanted
    • Business for sale
    • About TD Consulting
    • News
  • IWTA
    • Who is IWTA
    • Meet our featured leaders
    • IWTA Awards
    • Nominate Someone
    • Nominate yourself