The International Air Transport Association announced that they are rolling out the IATA Travel Pass. IATA Director General Willie Walsh announced, “after months of testing, IATA Travel Pass is now entering the operational phase”.
Walsh elaborated “The app has proven itself to be an effective tool to manage the complex mess of travel health credentials that governments require”.
The IATA Travel Pass is an app that offers a safe and secure way for travelers to know the requirements of their journey. Aside from the convenience of not bringing paper documents, this also avoids queuing and congestion.
The app allows travelers to receive test results and scan their vaccine certificates. Data collected by the app will be shared with health officials before the scheduled departure.
The app can also verify vaccine certificates from 52 countries. This represents 56% of global air travel. However, IATA Travel Pass will include more countries in the next months. By the end of November, the mobile app will be able to verify vaccine certificates from 74 countries. This will represent 85% of the world’s air traffic.
During the 77th IATA Annual General Meeting in Boston, Walsh announced that Etihad Airways, Jazeera Airways, Jetstar, Qantas, Qatar Airways, will start using the IATA Travel Pass. This makes a total of 6 pioneer airlines including Emirates.
Walsh said during the IATA’s meeting in Boston that the airline industry is “past the deepest point of the crisis”.
He also spoke about the need to get forego aviation measures that will outlive their purpose. He said that it would’ve been “more efficient if we eliminated measures that have been surpassed by technology”.
IATA’s chief also criticized the confusing travel restrictions worldwide. Walsh said that “Travel restrictions are a complex confusing web of rules with very little consistency among them”. He added that governments should let fully vaccinated individuals travel.
Walsh pointed out that the domestic travel demand proves that travelers are willing to fly again. He said that “The solid rebound in domestic markets tells us that people are not afraid to fly”.
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