In the next three months, the International Air Transport Association will activate an app that will allow the reopening of borders and the abolition of the mandatory quarantine on international travel.
With the new year comes a safe way to get back to flying, allowing airlines to recover from the worst crisis ever known and for travelers to fly safely. It is the IATA Travel Pass, the digital health passport that you download to your mobile phone or other I travel with an app available next quarter.
The news was announced by the IATA, International Air Trasport Association, which unveiled in recent days the key elements of the IATA Travel Pass, the app that will help travelers manage their travels in a simple and safe way, in line with government requirements. for Covid-19 tests or information on vaccines received, and will allow the reopening of borders and the abolition of the mandatory quarantine in international travel. The goal is to create a personal digital health passport and a global certification system that works everywhere and shared by airlines and governments.
How does it work
The app, still in the process of being finalized, was designed as a container of information needed by the traveler: from the entry restrictions imposed by the country of destination, to the list of accredited laboratories where swabs can be made in the country of departure. The digital Travel Pass will contain all the traveler’s health information, from the result of the latest covid-19 tests carried out to any vaccination. The data will be sent to the app directly by the health authorities or by specialized laboratories, in order to guarantee the truthfulness. The airport authorities in turn will have access to them via a QR Code. The same app will also contain all travel documents, i.e. airline tickets and an electronic copy of the passport (which is also connected to the app to verify the identity of its owner), so as to speed up boarding procedures and reduce contacts to a minimum.
When will it be available
In a few weeks everyone will be able to download the app available on the Apple and Android stores on their mobile phones. It will be completely free for passengers and governments. Instead, the companies will pay a small fee for each passenger who uses it. “Today – said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA Director General and CEO – the borders are doubly closed. Testing is the first key to enabling international travel without quarantine. The second key is the global information infrastructure needed to securely manage, share and verify test data matched to travelers’ identities in compliance with border control requirements. “
The crisis in the Business
The air transport industry in 2020 recorded a loss of passengers of 61%, equivalent to 118 billion dollars. With the news of the IATA travel pass, the sector may soon flourish again. A step forward that follows the path started by some airlines such as Alitalia which, since December, has activated Covid tested flights on the New York-Rome route to increase the number of passengers discouraged by the mandatory quarantine. A safe journey with few but important rules for the traveler: show up for boarding with a negative Covid-19 test certificate – carried out 48 hours before – use of the safety device to cover the nose and mouth for the duration of the trip and new test – once landed in Fiumicino – before leaving the airport. An initiative that has met with great success with the registration of all overbooked flights.