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Singapore Airlines announced that it had begun testing of the world’s first “health verification process”, which the company described as the “new normal” for travel.
Singapore’s flag carrier has become the first major airline to introduce a digital certificate developed by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and used to verify the COVID-19 test results and vaccination status of a traveler. .
The app, known as a Travel Pass, is used on flights operated by Singapore Airlines from Jakarta or Kuala Lumpur to Singapore. The airline said it could extend the program to other cities if the tests are successful. It also plans to integrate the certificate into its SingaporeAir mobile app in the coming months.
Passengers traveling the selected routes will need to take their Covid-19 tests at designated clinics in Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur, where they can be issued a digital or paper health certificate with a QR code, the airline explained in a press release. . Documents will be reviewed by both the airport check-in staff and the Singapore immigration authority.
The airline said COVID-19 tests and vaccinations will be “an integral part” of air travel in the future and that the certificates were an ideal way to “validate a passenger’s health credentials.” The company praised the new ID as a way to use digital technologies to create a “more seamless experience” for customers amid “the new normal.”
Margaret Tan, aviation security officer for the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS), applauded the launch and expressed hope that “other countries and airlines” will adopt a similar scheme to ensure that passengers have “the credentials of necessary to protect public health. ” “
IATA announced last month that it was working on Travel Pass in an attempt to reopen international travel. Several airlines have already analyzed the technology, including Qantas Airways, which said it plans to make testing for Covid-19 vaccination mandatory for all international passengers traveling to and from Australia. The company’s CEO, Alan Joyce, also speculated that digital health passports would become a requirement around the world.
However, there have been warnings within the industry that making proof of vaccination mandatory could be disastrous for the already suffering travel industry. Gloria Guevara, leader of the World Travel and Tourism Council, recently argued that only a negative test result should be required to fly, as vaccines are not yet widely available and high-risk groups receiving the injection are less likely. of travelling.
