Emirates has partnered with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to become one of the first airlines in the world to trial the IATA Travel Pass, a 'digital passport' that verifies passengers' pre-travel test or vaccination to comply with any government's COVID-19 requirements.
Before the full roll out, Emirates will try out the digital passport this April in Dubai.
The IATA Travel Pass will enable Emirates passengers to share the test and vaccination certificates with authorities and airlines to facilitate travel.
Furthermore, the new IATA Travel Pass app enables passengers to manage all travel documentation digitally and seamlessly throughout the travel experience.
For the trial in April, Emirates customers traveling from Dubai will be able to share their COVID-19 test status directly with the airline even before reaching the airport through the app, which will then auto-populate the details on the check-in system.
"While international travel remains as safe as ever, there are new protocols and travel requirements with the current global pandemic," noted Emirates' Chief Operating Officer Adel Al Redha.
"We have worked with IATA on this innovative solution to simplify and digitally transmit the information required by countries and governments into our airline systems, in a secure and efficient manner," he explained.
"With its global customer base and network traffic, Emirates as a partner will also bring invaluable input and feedback to improve the Travel Pass program," says IATA Senior Vice President for Airport, Passenger, Cargo and Security Nick Careen.
"This is the first step in making international travel during the pandemic as convenient as possible," he stressed.
As borders re-open, IATA Travel Pass will be further enhanced with more capabilities to meet all governments testing or vaccination verification requirements.
Within the IATA Travel Pass app, the integrated registry of travel requirements will also enable passengers to find accurate information on travel and entry requirements for all destinations regardless of where they are traveling from.
It will also include a registry of testing and eventually vaccination centers – making it more convenient for passengers to find testing centers and labs at their departure location.
The platform will enable authorized labs and test centers to securely send test results or vaccination certificates to passengers.
The global registry, managed by IATA, will manage and allow the secure flow of necessary information amongst all stakeholders and to provide a seamless passenger experience.