Virgin Atlantic to begin testing IATA Travel Pass as a means of proving testing and vaccination status

Virgin Atlantic, one of the main air carriers from the United Kingdom to Orlando has announced that it will begin trials of the IATA Travel Pass app on some of its flights.

The IATA Travel Pass is a digital health pass solution being developed to allow travellers to confirm that they meet the necessary health criteria for travel. Currently, the app will hold information on recent COVID-19 tests to confirm a traveller’s negative status. In the future, it will also store vaccine records. Virgin Atlantic will be the first UK airline to conduct a live trial of IATA Travel Pass.

Virgin initially plans to trial the app on flights from London Heathrow to Barbados. In the app, users can create a digital ID that includes a profile photo, their passport details and upload their COVID-19 credentials.

According to Virgin Atlantic, the app is being considered by governments around the world to support the restart of international travel at scale.

“In parallel to the UK’s successful vaccination programme and accompanied by a risk-based, phased easing of restrictions, we can see a flightpath to soon allow the safe restart of international travel at scale, in time for summer,” Corneel Koster, chief customer and operating officer at Virgin Atlantic, said. “When the skies reopen; rapid, affordable testing combined with digital health integration will be vital to streamline and simplify the customer experience, make border health checks manageable and build consumer confidence. Governments, industry and technology companies need to work together to lead the adoption of digital solutions with global common standards that are accepted at borders.”

Article Posted:
Mar 31, 2021 / 8:50am ET