New Covid-19 Digital Air Pass launched by IATA
IATA rolls out Digital Pass: Covid-19 has brought a lot of difficulties to authorities all over the world and it’s now been a year of such a painful journey yet the virus still seems to affect our daily lives to a great extent.
Travel between different countries was completely out of scope for the first 4 months of the spread.
But then regulations got a little lighter and individuals were allowed to travel around the countries, although only after following proper rules and regulations.
The main checkpoint for an individual to travel is that the person traveling should take a covid test within 24 hours of their travel.
The process was costly and if that’s not enough sometimes people missed their flight because of delayed results. And to amplify the burden more, the individuals have to spend a whole lot of time in lines and local checkpoints of the arrival airport.
To solve the issue of cross-checking and documentation of the arriving travelers, IATA(International Air transport Authority) has come up with a digital travel pass to serve people and minimize the time of the process at the airport.
The app will enable travelers to ensure their pre-travel test records meet the needs of the destination country.
Etihad and Emirates are the first ones to integrate and use the app for their travelers. The travel pass will be rolled out in a few weeks.
For people traveling through Etihad, the Pass will at first be offered to travelers on a few routes from Abu Dhabi. For Emirates, before a full rollout of the Pass, airlines will execute what it is calling 'stage 1' in Dubai. This will permit it to approve COVID-19 PCR tests before the flight.
Expected to start in April, this will offer travelers the chance to send their COVID-19 test status to Emirates prior to arriving at the terminal, saving time and energy.
IATA rolls out Digital Pass - What is the Travel Pass?
Created in-house by IATA, the Travel Pass gives an incorporated, application-based 'digital passport' to gather and confirm all the pre-travel necessities travelers may require.
Inside the application, travelers will have the option to confirm that their test, as well as vaccination, meets the prerequisites of the place they are intending to travel to.