Mobile app seeks to simplify travel during pandemic
Emirates is set to become the first airline to roll out the IATA Travel Pass worldwide. The travel pass is a mobile app that seeks to provide more ease to passengers travelling during pandemic times.
The Dubai-based carrier announced on Thursday that by October, it will complete the deployment of the travel solution across more than 120 destinations in six continents.
“The airline has now signed a contract with IATA to implement the solution across its global network,” Emirates said.
The travel pass is an initiative of the International Air Transport Association (IATA). It serves as a one-stop-shop for travellers to store and manage all the necessary papers required to board a flight, including COVID-19 test results and vaccine certificates.
It can also be a handy tool for people looking to find information on travel, testing and vaccine requirements of places they plan to travel to.
Currently, many travellers carry around printouts of vaccine certificates and COVID-19 test results, which they are asked to present prior to boarding the aircraft and upon arrival, depending on their country of destination.
“By providing passengers with a one-stop-shop to demystify, manage and process these credentials through a secure automated process, they can arrive at the airport ready-to-fly using automated processes. This will avoid queuing and congestion for document checks – to the benefit of travellers, airlines, airports and governments,” said Nick Careen, IATA senior vice president for operations, safety and security.
According to IATA, the app is now available for download on the Apple Store and Google Play, but travellers will not be able to use it unless their airline is part of a trial.
Trials
Emirates conducted trials for the app on select routes in April. It gradually expanded the pilot testing to customers on 12 routes in June. The app is currently available for Emirates’ customers travelling from 50 cities.
“We are pleased to partner with IATA on the IATA Travel Pass solution from early pilot trials to full implementation and we will continue to work closely with IATA on enhancements to facilitate even more secure and smoother journeys for travellers,” said Adel Al Redha, Emirates’ chief operating officer.
The airline has been ramping up its operations worldwide as demand for travel starts to recover from pandemic lows last year.
0 comments