Etihad Airways to Trial IATA Travel Pass in Q1
2021
(02 Mar 2021)
Etihad Airways has announced that it will allow
passengers to trial the IATA Travel Pass mobile app on select
flights from Abu Dhabi in the first quarter of 2021.
IATA Travel Pass has been developed as four independent
modules that can interact with each other. These modules cover
registries for regulatory entry requirements and labs/test
centers, verified certificate issuance, digital identity and the
possibility for passengers to share their tests results along
their journey via their mobile device.
The modules can work
together as one complete end-to-end solution or they can be used
separately to complement systems that others are building.
If the trial is successful, the pass will be extended to other
destinations in the Etihad network.
“COVID19 tests
and vaccinations will be key to get the world flying again. Since
1 August 2020, Etihad is the only airline requiring a
pre-departure negative PCR test result for all passengers
worldwide, and again on arrival in Abu Dhabi, giving our guests
the added assurance of safety when they travel with us,” said
Mohammad Al Bulooki, Chief
Operating Officer, Etihad Aviation Group. “A high
priority for Etihad is for our guests to have an easy, secure and
efficient way to identify and verify their information. Being one
of the first airlines globally working with IATA as a pioneer
partner on the IATA Travel Pass is a big step forward for Etihad’s
guests and for the industry.”
Etihad has been
actively exploring the roll out of digital health certification
for its guests, and this latest partnership with IATA, alongside
similar programmes the airline has in development, shows the
technology is advancing quickly to make it a reality.
To standardise the way in which passenger wellness can be assured
during the COVID19 pandemic, at an industry level, Etihad is
actively campaigning for collaboration and a united regulatory
response to restore confidence in flying.
Nick Careen, IATA's
Senior Vice President, Airport, Passenger, Cargo and Security,
said, “The Etihad
Airways partnership to launch the IATA Travel Pass is an important
milestone on the road to meaningfully restarting international
travel. Our aim is to give all governments the confidence to
re-open borders to travellers based on verified vaccine and
testing data. The initial stage of the Etihad launch will focus on
all four elements of the IATA Travel Pass modules, one of the
first airlines in the world to do so.”
Editor's note:
As the above video interview was conducted over the internet, I
would like to apologise that the audio and visual quality are not
up to the same HD/UHD quality that it normally would be. Hopefully it won't be too
long until we are once again conducting exclusive video interviews
in person, but for now we have to make do with what we have. Thank
you.
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