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Singapore Airlines has started to follow a digital health pass system. The system will allow passengers to enter their health details, negative COVID-19 tests, and possibly vaccinations in the future. The system is based on the IATA Travel Pass framework, which aims to make travel more seamless in the near future.
Digital verification
Singapore Airlines is the first airline to implement a digital health pass based on the IATA framework. The system allows passengers to store their negative COVID-19 tests digitally with a dedicated QR code. This code can be scanned by airline staff at check-in, speeding up the verification process.
Along with faster verification, the digital QR code also ensures that the tests are genuine and performed in a verified laboratory. This is possible because the test provider generates the QR code and sends it to the passenger. Currently, passengers must carry paper copies of their test results that are manually certified at the airport.
Digital verification will also speed up immigration and other entry controls, with only one scan required. Developed by the IATA Titamic registry, the pass can ensure that passengers also meet the entry requirements for their destination.
essays
Singapore Airlines began its first trial with the digital health pass yesterday. Passengers flying from Kuala Lumpur or Jakarta to Singapore, taking their tests at specific clinics, will receive their results digitally or on paper with a QR code.
Currently, 12 test providers in Jakarta and four in Kuala Lumpur provide digitally verified results to passengers. However, more will likely sign up if Singapore Airlines officially launches the tool next year.
In a press release seen by Simple Flying, Ms JoAnn Tan, Acting Senior Vice President of Marketing Planning at Singapore Airlines, said:
“Covid-19 testing and vaccinations will be an integral part of air travel for the foreseeable future. We offer a digital solution that enables easy and secure verification of this information and supports the industry’s safe and calibrated recovery from this pandemic. Using the robust IATA Travel Pass framework would also give our clients and governments the assurance they need about the security and authenticity of testing and vaccination information. “
In expansion
While the system may only be available on two routes for now, it could be expanded further if the trails are successful. The system will be integrated into the SingaporeAir app from mid-2021, making it easier to operate along with flight details. The app will also support vaccination details as they become available, although the exact details remain unknown.
Singapore Airlines also completed its first shipment of vaccine carriers this week, beginning the long journey to recovery. In the coming months, more airlines could implement their own applications to check health details more efficiently.
What do you think of the health pass initiatives? Will they become digital passports in the future? Let us know in the comment section.
