Amidst the swirling news of different countries and regions and their proposals for Covid credentials to help re-open travel, one major non-governmental initiative appears ready to hit the road—and it has the backing of many of the world's airlines. The IATA Travel Pass will apparently be available next week for Apple phones, and soon after for Android.
The plan, developed by the International Air Transport Association, a trade association for airlines, is to have a widely-distributed app that allows users to upload verified information and show it to officials at airlines, borders, ships or other venues. The Travel Pass app will also show users the current regulations and requirements for the area they are traveling to, and locates available testing centers for those who need them.
IATA Regional Vice President for Africa and the Middle East Kamil Alawadhi noted to reporters, however, that "the application will only achieve its success once airlines, different countries, airports adopt it." So far, several airlines have tested it, and Barbados has signaled its acceptance. Alawadhi also says "A huge amount of airlines have requested to be on board."
The question of volume could be critical; real-world use requires an app or system that is widely accepted, so starting with a world association of airlines is probably as good a strategy as any for acceptance.
The vaccine passport idea has raised a number of issues, including privacy. IATA, like most other app developers, skirts the issue by not creating a database, but rather allowing users to authorize their lab or government database to display information on the user's smartphone. The other major issue around 'vaccine passports,' whether they discriminate against those without full access to vaccines, testing and health care, obviously can't be solved by an app.
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