Six More Airlines Implement IATA Travel Pass

“The app has proven itself to be an effective tool to manage the complex mess of travel health credentials that governments require.” – IATA Director General Willie Walsh.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) on Tuesday announced that Etihad Airways, Jazeera Airways, Jetstar, Qantas, Qatar Airways and Royal Jordanian, will implement IATA Travel Pass in a phased rollout across the airlines’ networks.

IATA Travel Pass is a mobile app that can receive and verify a range of COVID-19 test results and digital vaccines certificates.

The app offers a safe and secure way for travelers to check the requirements for their journey, receive test results and scan their vaccine certificates, verify that these meet the destination and transit requirements and share these effortlessly with health officials and airlines prior to departure.

The six airlines join Emirates Airline as IATA Travel Pass implementation pioneers.

The announcement, made on the sidelines of the 77th IATA Annual General Meeting being held in Boston, follows eleven months of extensive testing by 76 airlines.

According to IATA, the travel pass app will help avoid queuing and congestion for document checks—to the benefit of travelers, airlines, airports and governments.

Currently vaccine certificates from 52 countries (representing the source of 56 percent of global air travel) can be managed using the app. This will increase to 74 countries, representing 85 percent of global traffic, by the end of November.

“After months of testing, IATA Travel Pass is now entering the operational phase,” said IATA Director General Willie Walsh, adding that the app has proven itself to be “an effective tool to manage the complex mess” of travel health credentials that governments require.

IATA Travel Pass is expected to play a key role in the aviation industry’s recovery from the impact of the coronavirus (Covid-19). A digitalized solution to manage the paperwork of COVID-19 travel health credentials will support a return to travel when borders reopen. With many governments relying on airlines for COVID-19 document checking this will be critical in avoiding queues and congestion at check-in as travel ramps up.

“It’s a great vote of confidence that some of the world’s best known airline brands will be making it available to their customers over the coming months,” Walsh said.