Six airlines are planning wide implementation of the International Air Transport Association's Travel Pass health passport tool, the organization announced.
Emirates in late September announced itself as the first carrier undergoing a full global implementation of Travel Pass, which provides information on travel requirements, access to Covid-19 testing centers and digital documentation of test results and vaccination certificates. After tests on select routes starting last April, Emirates now will have the tool available across its full network this month.
On Tuesday, IATA announced that Etihad Airways, Qatar Airways, Qantas and its low-cost subsidiary Jetstar Airways, Royal Jordanian and Kuwait's Jazeera Airways also are planning to implement Travel Pass across their networks in a "phased rollout."
During the past 11 months, 76 airlines in total have been testing the Travel Pass technology, and it is now ready for the operational phase, IATA director general Willie Walsh said in a statement.
"The app has proven itself to be an effective tool to manage the complex mess of travel health credentials that governments require," Walsh said. "And, it's a great vote of confidence that some of the world's best known airline brands will be making it available to their customers over the coming months."
IATA Travel Pass currently is able to manage vaccine certificates from 52 countries, representing about 56 percent of the global air travel market. By the end of November, IATA expects that will increase to 74 countries, representing 85 percent of global air traffic.