IATA Travel Pass, Set For March Launch, Seeks To Give Governments Confidence To Re-Open Borders
With APAC air travel at 5% of 2019 levels, need for “globally accepted framework” is acute.
The IATA Travel Pass, currently in pilot phase with Singapore Airlines, IAG Group, Emirates, Etihad, and Qatar Airways, and targeted for launch by March, will hopefully give confidence to governments and health authorities to open their borders without the requirement of quarantine.
Asked if it would be the "magic bullet" the industry is wishing for, Vinoop Goel, regional director, airports and external relations Asia Pacific, said the "magic bullet" will be testing and vaccines.
"Testing and vaccines are critical. IATA Travel Pass will make it easy for authorities to check if passengers have adhered to their rules and requirements and by so doing, give them confidence to open borders without quarantine."
IATA is not alone in trying to create a digital health passport to restart travel - the Commons Project and the World Economic Forum are working together on the CommonPass - but with the association representing some 290 airlines comprising 82% of global air traffic, it is hoping it will take the lead in this Herculean task of restarting aviation.
