IATA
The IATA Travel Pass will support the safe reopening of borders. Credit: raymondtan85 via flickr.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has revealed that its digital health pass has entered the final stage of development.

Named the IATA Travel Pass, the digital pass is designed to assist in the safe reopening of borders amid the coronavirus pandemic.

It will help in the information flow related to testing or vaccine between governments, airlines, laboratories and passengers.

IATA director general and CEO Alexandre de Juniac said: “Today, borders are double-locked. Testing is the first key to enable international travel without quarantine measures.

“The second key is the global information infrastructure needed to securely manage, share and verify test data matched with traveller identities in compliance with border control requirements.

“That’s the job of IATA Travel Pass. We are bringing this to market in the coming months to also meet the needs of the various travel bubbles and public health corridors that are starting operation.”

IATA collaborated with International Airlines Group (IAG) in the development of the pass, which complies with industry standards.

They will be piloting the solution to demonstrate the safe reopening of international travel and replace quarantine.

The first cross-border IATA Travel Pass pilot is scheduled for later this year and the launch slated for Q1 2021.

In a separate development, IATA welcomed the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) publication of the ‘Manual on Testing and Cross Border Risk Management Measures’.

This document provides governments with a risk-based assessment tool for using testing programmes to help ease quarantine requirements.

In October, IATA research indicated that the risk of passengers contracting Covid-19 in-flight appeared to be very low with 44 Covid-19 cases reported since the beginning of this year.