Digital passes fail to banish airline fears over airport chaos

While politicians hail digital health passes as the solution to aviation's COVID-19 crisis, airline bosses are still having sleepless nights about clogged up airports as they worry how to deal with the millions who have already been vaccinated. More than 220 million people have been fully vaccinated against the disease, according to Our World in Data. Almost a billion have had at least one dose. But many were given shots before the development of new user-friendly, digital health passes, raising uncertainty over the status of millions of certificates issued beforehand, and industry fears of a paper trail that could gum up airports. "As governments begin to amend travel restrictions for vaccinated travelers, it is essential that they provide clear guidance on the acceptance of paper certificates," the group representing global airlines said. The IATA and a similar lobby for the world's airports have already backed efforts by the WHO to provide common standards to simplify vaccine records.<br/>