The aviation industry launches the Covid-19 Digital Travel Pass app

With the rise in COVID-19 vaccination rates, the aviation industry has a plan to help ease air travel by launching a digital travel card app, scheduled to arrive in mid-April.

In a detailed announcement before Reuters, The International Air Transport Association provided an update on Digital Travel Card. IATA vIce president Kamil Alawadhi said The app is currently under testing and is expected to be available on April 15th, first on iOS, with an Android version coming “later”.

The purpose of the app is to help simplify air travel by digitizing and centralizing the results of coronavirus tests and vaccinations, which is especially important because many airlines and countries currently require proof of a negative Covid test that is performed within one to three days before arriving in a new country. .

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) says its passport is designed to standardize validation and certification of “all state regulations regarding covid-19 Passenger Travel Requirements, with the app that allows passengers to create a digital passport, verify and store test results And vaccination cardsProvides a safe way to share these findings with government and air travel authorities. By working with test centers, laboratories may be able to issue passengers with digital certificates directly prior to the oncoming flight.

However, even after the IATA application becomes available, it will be important for individual airlines to certify Travel Pass if it isIt will be really effective. The International Air Transport Association governs the vast majority of global air travel with Almost 300 current membersAnd Including major US airlines such as American Airlines, Delta, and United.

“The application will only achieve its success once it is approved by airlines, different countries and airports,” Al-Awadi told Reuters. A large number of airlines have requested to be on board. “

However, at least for now, only about 20 airlines of the 295 IATA member airlines have announced plans to test the new IATA implementation. Barbados is currently one of the first countries in the world to accept digital documentation for testing the Coronavirus at its borders, and Virgin Atlantic announced last week that it will test the IATA app for its route between London and Barbados starting April 16.

By digitizing coronavirus testing and vaccination data, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) hopes to speed up passenger health and safety checkpoints. And as more people continue to receive vaccinations and start thinking about traveling again, anything that makes travel a little easier will likely be a very welcome upgrade. Unless you have the virus, in which case it is better for you to stay home.