Crédit: IATA

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) presents its mobile application IATA Travel Pass with the aim of reopening borders without quarantine and reviving aviation.

The app allows passengers to create a “digital passport” that makes future air travel easier and more secure.

Among the benefits presented by IATA, we can note that :

• Travellers will have accurate information on testing requirements, where to get tested or vaccinated, and how to securely transmit results/certificates to airlines and border authorities;
• Governments will be able to verify the authenticity of tests or vaccinations and the identity of those presenting their certificates;
• Airlines will be able to provide their passengers with accurate information on testing requirements and verify that a passenger is eligible to travel;
• Accredited laboratories will be able to issue certificates to passengers that are recognised by governments, and transmit their results directly.

Nick Careen, IATA Senior Vice President Operations, Safety and Security, said: “The IATA Travel Pass will act as a trusted third party between governments, airlines, laboratories and travellers to verify these documents in a secure manner, ensuring reliable information on the health status of travellers.

The app contains a directory of approved testing centres and laboratories in their city of departure that meet the screening and vaccination standards for that destination. These labs and testing centres can securely send test results or vaccination certificates to the passenger’s app – without them being stored in a central database – to be added to their digital health portfolio and presented to airline and immigration personnel as proof of their clearance to travel.

IATA says its app “has been developed with the highest levels of privacy and data security, so that passengers always remain in control of their Covid-19 health information.”

Available on the GooglePlay and AppStore download platforms, the app is being tested by nearly 50 airlines and could be rolled out to a large majority of IATA members by the end of the year.

At Air France, the application, which has been in the test phase since June on flights between New York-JFK and Montreal and Barcelona and Paris-Charles de Gaulle, opens up promising prospects for easier and safer travel.

Alain-Hervé Bernard, Executive Vice President Operations and Cargo at Air France said: “After a year marked by confinements and travel restrictions, many people are eager to travel and reunite with their loved ones. In order to offer them a smooth and safe journey, we continue to call for the coordination and harmonisation of health standards worldwide, as well as the standardisation of travel documents. The complete digitalisation of the customer journey is an essential condition for the resumption of international travel. The IATA Travel Pass is an example of what could become the standard for travel document verification and we are happy to test this solution. ”