Covid passports emerge as key to restarting international travel

IATA is working on a mobile app that will help travelers demonstrate their coronavirus-free status, joining a push to introduce so-called Covid passports as vaccines for the disease near approval. The Travel Pass will display test results together with proof of inoculation, as well as listing national entry rules and details on the nearest labs, the IATA said Monday. The app will also link to an electronic copy of the holder’s passport to prove their identity. A test program will begin with BA parent IAG this year before arriving on Apple devices in the first quarter and Android from April, IATA said. Travelers will be able to share their status with border authorities or present a QR code for scanning. Qantas said Monday a Covid-19 vaccination will be a necessity for its international passengers. CEO Alan Joyce said he has discussed the idea with other airlines, and it’s likely to become a pre-boarding requirement around the world. “It’s going to be a common theme across the board,” Joyce said. While international travel remains in the doldrums amid a patchwork of local restrictions and lockdowns, countries are beginning to embrace testing to shorten or do away with quarantines for arriving passengers. The first vaccines are meanwhile expected to become available in coming months. That’s prompted a spate of technology-led moves to devise mechanisms to monitor travelers’ Covid credentials and combat false claims from people desperate to fly.<br/>