Gallery: Digital Health Passes Becoming Key to Travel
Linda Blachly
Malaysia Airlines introduces digital travel health pass
Photo credit: Rob FinlaysonMalaysia Airlines plans to introduce a Digital Travel Health Pass, which will incorporate some modules of the IATA Travel Pass that enables passengers to create a digital passport, verify their test/vaccination requirements and status, and share their “OK to Travel” status with relevant authorities. The Digital Travel Health Pass will be integrated with the Malaysia Airlines mobile app and will enable passengers to make appointments with certified medical partners to carry out a COVID-19 RT-PCR test or include their COVID-19 vaccination certificate. In addition, passengers can verify their travel eligibility with the airline before their travels, making them aware and informed of the constantly developing travel policies worldwide. This digital ID on the app will pave the way for Malaysia Airlines’ passengers to eventually take advantage of contactless technology options throughout the travel processes.
Air New Zealand to trial IATA Travel Pass
Photo credit: IATAAir New Zealand will trial the IATA Travel Pass on its Auckland-Sydney Route in April. The trial will run for three weeks once the app hits app/android store shelves in April; both aircrew and customers will be invited to join the trial. The airline is in conversation with government agencies about options for validation of testing and vaccination.
Air France to begin testing ICC AOKpass
Photo credit: Air FranceAir France is set to begin testing the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) AOKpass. This four-week test will begin on March 11, 2021 on all Air France flights from Paris-CDG to Pointe-à-Pitre (Guadeloupe) and Fort-de-France (Martinique). It will be done on a voluntary basis, to test the operation of the application in real conditions and to collect the opinions of test clients. Air France will share this feedback with the other companies in the SkyTeam alliance, which are currently testing various solutions for digitalizing health documents.
Lufthansa Group integrates COVID-19 test certificates into digital travel chain
Photo credit: Lufthansa GroupThe Lufthansa (LH) Group is taking an important step toward integrating COVID-19 test results into the digital travel chain by setting up a Group Health Entry Support Center for passengers on select routes. Initially, passengers departing Frankfurt to Istanbul, and those passengers departing Newark to Frankfurt or Munich will be able to send in their COVID-19 test certificates and digital entry application confirmations to the center 72 hours before departure. Customers will receive email confirmation in advance that certificates meet entry requirements. The LH Group said procedure is hoped to make check-in and boarding a faster and smoother process.
American expands VeriFLY destinations
Photo credit: American AirlinesAmerican Airlines in February expanded its acceptance of the VeriFLY travel app from the Dallas/Fort Worth-based carrier’s domestic airports to include eight countries—Canada, Chile, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica and the UK. In addition, American’s joint business partner, British Airways, has begun using VeriFLY for flights from London to the US. VeriFly is a mobile health wallet that simplifies COVID-19 testing requirements.
French carriers to launch ICC AOKpass pilot program in March
Photo credit: French beeFrench carriers Air Caraïbes and French bee, part of Groupe Dubreuil, will launch a new pilot of International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) AOKpass, the blockchain based digital health certificate supported by ICC and global industry leaders in health and certification services, International SOS and SGS Group. Using the app, which is purpose-built to be interoperable with all other systems, travelers on specified routes will be able to verify their COVID-19 test results with the airlines without breaching the privacy of their personal health data. The pilots will include Paris airport (Orly) departures to the French Overseas Territories (Guadeloupe, Martinique, Guyana, La Réunion and Tahiti) for Air Caraïbes and French bee. It will be rolled out to passengers from the beginning of March.
V-Health Passport expands use beyond travel
Photo credit: VST EnterprisesV-Health Passport, the product of British technology company VST Enterprises (VSTE), is being adopted by some of Britain’s blue light emergency services who were seeking a solution that can both store and display results in one place and track their staff’s contact with others. The V-Health Passport said it was a world first in April 2020. Today, it remains the only solution that combines test and vaccination solutions with other needs such as event and travel ticketing. The product has been used across the world in education, the workplace, leisure centers, air travel, maritime, construction and more.
Delta to trial CLEAR Pass
Photo credit: CLEARDelta Air Lines is launching a pilot with CLEAR Pass beginning Feb. 18 for passengers traveling from Los Angeles to Honolulu onboard one flight per day—helping the Atlanta-based carrier better understand how this and other tools can be used to speed up customer re-entry into the US. Customer participation in the CLEAR Pass pilot is optional. Delta is also consulting with partners across the travel journey—including the cruise line, hotel and entertainment industries—to align on key standards and additional best practices that can be put in place to reopen travel in the months ahead.
SITA launches Health Protect
Photo credit: SITAInformation technology company SITA has launched Health Protect—an industry solution to help airlines, airports, governments and passengers securely share information on health tests or vaccinations needed for travel. According to SITA, Health Protect “seamlessly integrates with multiple travel pass schemes (including AOK, CommonPass, IATA, SimplyGo). Successful trials have already been undertaken with travelers to the United Arab Emirates, and soon to start at Milan Malpensa Airport.
Copa Airlines to Trial IATA Travel Pass
Photo credit: IATAIATA is partnering with the government of the Republic of Panama and Copa Airlines to trial IATA Travel Pass—a mobile app to help passengers easily and securely manage their travel in line with government requirements for COVID-19 testing or vaccine information. The initial trial phase is expected to begin in March on select flights from Copa’s Hub of the Americas in Panama City. Panama is the first government to participate in a trial of IATA Travel Pass, which will be essential to re-establishing global connectivity while managing the risks of COVID-19. Copa Airlines will be the first carrier in the Americas to trial the IATA Travel Pass.
Vision-Box, Airside partner on digital health passport
Photo credit: Vision-BoxVision-Box and US-based digital identity innovator, Airside Mobile, have entered into a partnership that Integrates Airside’s Digital Identity & Health Passport App with Vision-Box’s Identity Management Platform, Orchestra. The “enhanced safe, secure and touchless platform” allows travelers to move along their entire journey using their mobile device safely and securely, the companies said in a statement. “This end-to-end integration personalizes the traveler experience and empowers them by keeping them in control of their sensitive information with transparent consent protocols. Data protection is at the heart of the partnership, further supported by Vision-Box’s unique certification in Privacy-By-Design and Airside’s distributed architecture that meets data protection laws, regulations and international standards,” Vision-Box said.
British Airways to trial VeriFLY mobile travel health passport
Photo credit: British AirwaysBritish Airways will begin trialing a new travel health app, VeriFLY, with customers who are eligible to travel between London and the US from Feb. 4. The new digital health travel passport, which can be downloaded to a mobile device, checks that customers meet the entry requirements of their destination by providing digital health document verification and confirming eligibility.
Etihad Airways pilots ICC AOKpass
Photo credit: ICCThe International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) announced that Etihad Airways, in partnership with health and security services firm International SOS, will pilot the ICC AOKpass on Paris-Abu Dhabi flights. The collaboration, between the Abu Dhabi-based airline and International SOS company MedAire, will use the ICC AOKpass mobile app for the digitalization of pre-departure COVID-19 testing. Under the pilot, Etihad guests are able to securely store their PCR test results digitally on their mobile devices for later verification at the airport. According to ICC, the AOKpass system completes this verification “using a global, incorruptible blockchain-based network—ensuring all test results are genuine, valid, and in line with government regulations.”
United introduces Travel-Ready app
Photo credit: United AirlinesUnited Airlines has launched “Travel-Ready Center,” a new digital solution where customers can review COVID-19 entry requirements, find local testing options, and upload any required testing and vaccination records for domestic and international travel, all in one place. The Chicago-based company said it is the first airline to integrate all these features into its mobile app and website. In the weeks and months ahead, United said it will add “more innovative, industry-first features to the Travel-Ready Center platform to make navigating evolving entry requirements even easier.” United customers will soon be able to: • Schedule a COVID-19 test at one of more than 15,000 testing sites around the world, right from the app or website; • Access the recently launched Agent on Demand, a United-exclusive feature that gives customers the ability to video chat live with a customer service agent to answer any questions about pre-travel requirements or documentation; and • View details about visa requirements for the countries they plan to visit.
American Airlines rolls out VeriFLY health passport app
Photo credit: American AirlinesAmerican Airlines has become the first U.S. airline to roll out a “health passport” app for inbound international travelers. The VeriFLY app, a mobile health passport that helps customers understand and verify their travel requirements, will be available for travelers starting Jan. 23, for travel from all international destinations. VeriFLY was developed and is managed by the biometric authentication solutions provider Daon. After creating a secure profile on the VeriFLY app, Daon verifies that the customer’s data matches a country’s COVID-19 requirements and displays a pass or fail message.
Emirates, Etihad to trial IATA Travel Pass
Photo credit: Emirates AirlineUAE carriers Emirates Airline and Etihad Airways will become two of the first airlines globally to trial the IATA Travel Pass, which is a mobile app designed to help travelers securely manage their journeys in line with government requirements for COVID-19 testing or vaccine information. Prior to a full roll-out, Emirates will implement a phase 1 trial in Dubai for the validation of COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests before departure. In this initial phase, expected to begin in April, Emirates customers traveling from Dubai will be able to share their COVID-19 test status directly with the airline through the app even before reaching the airport. Etihad, meanwhile, said Jan. 19 that it will initially offer the Travel Pass to guests on selected flights departing Abu Dhabi in the 2021 first quarter. If successful, the pass will be extended to other destinations on the Etihad network.
IATA trials Travel Pass
Photo credit: IATAIATA is trialing its Travel Pass, which is the product of cooperation with International Airlines Group (IAG), as part of an initiative to reopen borders without quarantine and assure governments they are effectively mitigating the risk of importing COVID-19. The IATA Travel Pass initiative was unveiled in late November 2020 to create a global and standardized platform for passengers to receive information on vaccine requirements, approved testing labs, as well as a secured system for labs to send test results to and authorities to retrieve them.
CommonPass to launch early in 2021
Photo credit: The Commons ProjectThe Common Trust Network’s CommonPass lets individuals access their lab results and vaccination records, and consent to have that information used to validate their COVID status without revealing any other underlying personal health information. Lab results and vaccination records can be accessed through existing health data systems, national or local registries or personal digital health records (Apple Health for iOS, CommonHealth for Android). Apple Health and CommonHealth let individuals store their health records securely and privately on their phones, entirely under their control. The CommonPass platform assesses whether the individual’s lab test results or vaccination records (1) come from a trusted source, and (2) satisfy the health screening requirements of the country they want to enter. CommonPass delivers a simple yes/no answer as to whether the individual meets the current entry criteria, but the underlying health information stays in the individual’s control. CommonPass is designed such that it can be accessed directly through other apps and services. The purpose of CommonPass and the Common Trust Network—in cooperation with the World Economic Forum—is to enable safer airline and cross border travel by giving both travelers and governments confidence in each traveler's verified COVID-19 status.
British tech firm launches V-Health Passport
Photo credit: VST EnterprisesBritish technology firm VST Enterprises (VSTE), which developed the V-Health Passport, launched its UK home COVID-19 test kit. The “at home” booking service comes with a free secure V-Health Passport, which provides tests results in 24 hours. VSTE in December 2020 launched its “Fit To Fly” secure digital health passport for airlines and airline passengers. The V-Health Passport is a secure digital health passport and contact tracing platform. It can be downloaded and used alongside any form of COVID-19 testing and vaccination that does not use unsecure bar codes and QR code technology; instead, it uses its patented VCode and VPlatform technology. Airlines and transport carriers can also download and use the system. VHealth Scan permissions also allow other items to be viewed from the issued Passport, such as travel and event tickets.
First traveler to use ICC AOKpass arrives at Changi
Photo credit: International SOSInternational SOS, the International Chamber of Commerce, and AOKpass Pte. Ltd. have announced the first use of ICC AOKpass to provide a digitally verifiable COVID-19 health certificate for entrance to Singapore. The ability to authenticate health records at border points of entry will help to facilitate the safe and efficient resumption of international travel during the global pandemic. On Dec. 21, 2020, a Singapore citizen returning from Japan on Singapore Airlines flight SQ637 successfully used the ICC AOKpass for the first time, to officially present a negative COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction (“PCR”) digital test result for arrival verification at Changi Airport’s immigration counters. This was the first time an immigration authority has used a blockchain based, digitally verifiable health certificate.
Digital health credentials—which includes COVID-19 testing and vaccination records—are quickly rising to the surface as key to restarting the engine of the airline industry.
