Although many borders of the world remain closed to tourism due to the pandemic, several companies and organizations are working to create one “Covid Passport”: that is, a digital document that allows you to check your health status with the government of any country you wish to visit. The idea is that in this way the international travel industry will gradually recover.
The International Air Transport Association (HERE IT IS, by the acronym in English) just announced that his Covid passport, called Travel Pass, will arrive at America in March. Specifically, it will be the government of Panama and the airline Copa Airlines (of Panamanian origin) who will participate in an initial test phase.
Other airlines in the world such as Etihad (United Arab Emirates), Emirates, Air New Zealand and Qatar Airways have begun their tests. By the way, in August 2020 Etihad became the first airline to request PCR testing from all its passengers around the world.
Photo: IATA
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How is the Travel Pass
When used internationally, the Travel Pass will come to you in the form of a free app for your Android or iPhone. In it you will be able to store the data of passport and results of Covid tests to make it easier for you to travel abroad.
HERE IT IS has presented four key benefits of his digital passport.
1. Governments can more easily verify the authenticity of Covid-19 tests presented by international travelers. This leaves little room for fraud or confusion.
2. Airlines also access this platform to verify the authenticity of the tests. Countries like the United States currently require your airline to review yours Covid test before tackling. The company also has the opportunity to share with you the information about restrictions you need to consider.
3. Authorized laboratories may issue digital certificates in a standard manner. There is no need to consult more lists than the ones you find here and there is no problem with languages.
4. Speed up your passage through airports and migration filters, without the need to use paper or have more contact. However, there should be paper alternatives for travelers who do not have a telephone.
Eventually, it could also work with vaccine information.
The international association has clarified that the app will use data encryption so that only the information that the traveler decides is shared with governments and airlines.
Photo: IATA
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The CommonPass
As we said at the beginning of this note, there are several organizations working on digital platforms that would serve as one Covid passport around the world.
CommonPass is another of the projects, it is a collaboration between the Swiss organization Commons Project Foundation and the World Economic Forum.
This application generates a QR code when the traveler in question meets the requirements necessary to visit a country; it allows governments to add their own criteria (such as a certain laboratory or an additional questionnaire, for example) to approve the entry of tourists.
Read more: CommonPass, the Covid passport that already started testing in the US