This is how the Travel Pass, the IATA health passport, will work

The International Transport Association ( IATA ), an entity that brings together almost 300 airlines worldwide, plans to have its health passport called IATA Travel Pass ready next March.

The digital tool is a free download traveler application whose main objective is to allow. At the same time, the risk of contagion by Covid-19 in the world lasts, “the resumption of national and international travel and, consequently, the return to the normality in air traffic,” as well as the recovery of the economic activity of the companies, so hit by the pandemic.

The mobile application will upload the user’s covid-19 vaccination tests digitally, and the results of the tests carried out for travel.

It will also incorporate a complete record of entry requirements in each country or territory. In the same way, it will allow consulting the registry of laboratories, testing centers, or vaccination providers. And finally, it will offer the user a digital identity so that companies can verify the health certificate owner.

IATA emphasizes that the app stores encrypted personal data, including test or vaccine results, on the traveler’s mobile device. The user controls what information is shared from his phone with the airlines and the authorities.

No central database or data repository stores the information. By keeping travelers 100% in control of their information, the highest standards of data privacy are guaranteed, says IATA, which states that, in this legally compromised point, it has been based “on the highest standards of the data protection laws.”

As reported by IATA, until the Covid-19 vaccine is widely available to all citizens, the priority is virus testing. As he explains, “laboratories have well-established security standards to administer and verify the results of tests carried out on people,” And IATA is partnering with laboratories to link their test results with a verified identity

of the holder of the Travel Pass application securely. “We are building the IATA Travel Pass with one goal: to help reconnect our world safely,” explained Nick Careen, vice president of airports, passengers, cargo, and security for the entity.

“IATA has so far made advances in global standards such as electronic ticketing, and mobile boarding passes for consumers around the world. This ability shows that we can work with industry and governments to reform travel processes. We are confident that we can offer a complete solution with the Travel Pass application. We want airlines to have a competitive market with the widest range of options that meet their specific needs,” he stressed.