The IATA Travel Pass: A New Era of Safe Air Travel

With the global pandemic adding complications and safety concerns to air travel, flying isn’t exactly the easiest endeavor one can undertake. Therefore, several companies and agencies are working on solutions that can ensure safe travels for all, including airlines and governments. One of these promising solutions is being developed by the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

The IATA is introducing its Travel Pass, a global health passport that could enable people to resume international flying while also ensuring compliance with health and safety regulations. “To re-open borders without quarantine and restart aviation, governments need to be confident that they are effectively mitigating the risk of importing COVID-19,” according to an IATA press release. This initiative emphasizes the importance of having accurate information on passengers’ COVID-19 health status.

The Travel Pass aims to streamline the flow of information between travelers, governments, airlines, and laboratories. Travelers can verify the anti-COVID regulations of their destination country and locate the nearest testing facilities. Consequently, laboratories will directly upload test results to the app, ensuring reliability and timeliness. When it’s time to travel, users can present their COVID-19 test results on the app to airline personnel and border patrol officers, thus helping to prevent the spread of the virus during flight or in the destination country.

The app is anticipated to begin testing at the end of 2020 and is scheduled for release on both iOS and Android in 2021. For further information, visit IATA’s official website here.