Airlines and travel groups urge US to develop virus passport

US airlines, joined by travel groups and labor, urged the Biden administration to take the lead in developing standards for temporary Covid-19 health credentials that would help reopen global travel by documenting vaccinations and test results. The US “must be a leader” in efforts already underway in other regions to implement such travel passports, groups including Airlines for America said in a letter Monday to Jeffrey Zients, the head of President Joe Biden’s Covid-19 recovery team. It’s essential for the government to partner with carriers and the travel industry “to quickly develop” standards, they said. Increasing numbers of vaccinations and slowing rates of disease in many countries are expected to trigger a surge in travel after many consumers spent a year staying close to home to avoid contracting coronavirus. Covid-19 Health Certificates, or CHCs, are seen as essential to reopening many nations that have imposed quarantines or other restrictions on travelers from other countries. The US currently requires a negative Covid-19 test for those entering the country by airplane.<br/>