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travel pass

Six More Airlines Implement IATA Travel Pass

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Six More Airlines Implement IATA Travel Pass

Boston, Massachusetts, United States, October 12, 2021 / TRAVELINDEX / The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced that Etihad Airways, Jazeera Airways, Jetstar, Qantas, Qatar Airways and Royal Jordanian, will implement IATA Travel Pass in a phased rollout across the airlines’ networks. These five airlines join Emirates Airline as IATA Travel Pass implementation pioneers.

The announcement, made on the sidelines of the 77th IATA Annual General Meeting being held in Boston, follows eleven months of extensive testing by 76 airlines.

“After months of testing, IATA Travel Pass is now entering the operational phase. The app has proven itself to be an effective tool to manage the complex mess of travel health credentials that governments require. 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,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.

The app offers a safe and secure way for travelers to check the requirements for their journey, receive test results and scan their vaccine certificates, verify that these meet the destination and transit requirements and share these effortlessly with health officials and airlines prior to departure. This will avoid queuing and congestion for document checks—to the benefit of travelers, airlines, airports and governments.

IATA Travel Pass is a mobile app that can receive and verify a range of COVID-19 test results and digital vaccines certificates. Currently vaccine certificates from 52 countries (representing the source of 56% of global air travel) can be managed using the app. This will increase to 74 countries, representing 85% of global traffic, by the end of November.

IATA Travel Pass is expected to play a key role in the aviation industry’s recovery from the impact of COVID-19. A digitalized solution to manage the paperwork of COVID-19 travel health credentials will support a return to travel when borders reopen. With many governments relying on airlines for COVID-19 document checking this will be critical in avoiding queues and congestion at check-in as travel ramps up.

First published at TravelCommunication.net

First published at TravelNewsHub.com – Global Travel News

WTTC Responds to Latest EU Travel Recommendations

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WTTC Responds to Latest EU Travel Recommendations

London, United Kingdom, September 3, 2021 / TRAVELINDEX / Julia Simpson, WTTC President & CEO said: “Protecting public health must remain the priority and WTTC strongly supports safety protocols to stop the spread of COVID-19. However, the EU’s recommendation to reimpose restrictions on U.S. travellers is a step backwards and will only slow down the recovery of the sector.

“With high vaccination levels in both the U.S. and the EU, we should be looking at opening up travel between these two major economies. We need a common set of rules that recognise global vaccines and remove the need to quarantine for people with a negative COVID result.

“The U.S. is a key source market for many EU Member States, such as France, Italy, Germany and Ireland, and tourism will be critical in restoring normal life and tens of thousands of jobs in both the U.S. and the EU.

“Rather than imposing further damaging travel restrictions, the EU should be encouraging Member States to use its groundbreaking Digital COVID Certificate to safely restore international travel, fundamental for the European economy.”

First published at TravelCommunication.net – Global Travel News

First published at TravelNewsHub.com – Global Travel News

IATA Calls on States to Follow WHO Guidance on Cross-Border Travel

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IATA Calls on States to Follow WHO Guidance on Cross-Border Travel

Geneva, Switzerland, August 16, 2021 / TRAVELINDEX / The International Air Transport Association (IATA) called on states to follow new guidance on travel from the World Health Organization (WHO). The guidance recommends a “risk-based approach” to implementing measures related to COVID-19 and international travel. It will be presented to the WHO COVID-19 International Health Regulations Emergency Committee on Thursday 15 July.

Specifically, WHO recommended that governments:

  • Do not require proof of COVID-19 vaccination as a mandatory condition for entry or exit
  • Remove measures such as testing and/or quarantine requirements for travelers who are fully vaccinated or have had a confirmed previous COVID-19 infection within the past six months
  • Ensure alternative pathways for unvaccinated individuals through testing so that they are able to travel internationally. The WHO recommends rRT-PCR tests or antigen detection rapid diagnostic tests (Ag-RDTs) for this purpose.
  • Only implement test and/or quarantine measures for international travelers “on a risk-based manner” with policies on testing and quarantine regularly reviewed to ensure they are lifted when no longer necessary.

“These commonsense, risk-based recommendations from WHO, if followed by states, will allow for international air travel to resume while minimizing the chance of importing COVID-19. As WHO notes—and as the latest UK testing data proves—international travelers are not a high-risk group in terms of COVID-19. Out of 1.65 million tests carried out on arriving international passengers in the UK since February, only 1.4% were positive for COVID-19. It’s long past time for governments to incorporate data into risk-based decision-making process for re-opening borders,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.

WHO also called on states to communicate “in a timely and adequate manner” any changes to international health-related measures and requirements. “Consumers face a maze of confusing, uncoordinated and fast-changing border entry rules that discourage them from traveling, causing economic hardship across those employed in the travel and tourism sector. According to our latest passenger survey, 70% of recent travelers thought the rules were a challenge to understand,” said Walsh.

Additionally, WHO encouraged states to look at bilateral, multilateral, and regional agreements, particularly among neighboring counties, “with the aim of facilitating the recovery of key socioeconomic activities” including tourism, for which international travel plays a vital role.

“The pandemic has put more than 46 million jobs, normally supported by aviation, at risk. By incorporating these latest WHO recommendations into their border opening strategies, states can begin to reverse the economic damage of the past 18 months and put the world on the road to recovery,“ said Walsh.

First published at TravelCommunication.net

First published at TravelNewsHub.com – Global Travel News

IATA Warns Governments on High Cost of Testing

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IATA Warns Governments on High Cost of Testing

Geneva, Switzerland, July 31, 2021 / TRAVELINDEX / The International Air Transport Association (IATA) called on governments to take action to address the high cost of COVID-19 tests in many jurisdictions and urged flexibility in permitting the use of cost-effective antigen tests as an alternative to more expensive PCR tests. IATA also recommended governments adopt recent World Health Organization (WHO) guidance to consider exempting vaccinated travelers from testing requirements.

According to IATA’s most recent traveler survey, 86% of respondents are willing to get tested. But 70% also believe that the cost of testing is a significant barrier to travel, while 78% believe governments should bear the cost of mandatory testing.

“IATA supports COVID-19 testing as a pathway to reopen borders to international travel. But our support is not unconditional. In addition to being reliable, testing needs to be easily accessible, affordable, and appropriate to the risk level. Too many governments, however, are falling short on some or all of these. The cost of testing varies widely between jurisdictions, with little relation to the actual cost of conducting the test. The UK is the poster child for governments failing to adequately manage testing. At best it is expensive, at worst extortionate. And in either case, it is a scandal that the government is charging VAT,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.

The new generation of rapid tests cost less than $10 per test. Provided a confirmatory rRT-PCR test is administered for positive test results, WHO guidance sees Ag-RDT antigen testing as an acceptable alternative to PCR. And, where testing is a mandatory requirement, the WHO’s International Health Regulations (IHRs) state that neither passengers nor carriers should bear the cost of testing.

Testing also needs to be appropriate to the threat level. For example, in the UK, the latest National Health Service data on testing arriving travelers show that more than 1.37 million tests were conducted on arrivals from so-called Amber countries. Just 1% tested positive over four months. Meanwhile, nearly three times that number of positive cases are being detected in the general population daily.

“Data from the UK government confirms that international travelers pose little to no risk of importing COVID-19 compared to existing levels of infection in the country. At the very least therefore, the UK government should follow WHO guidance and accept antigen tests which are fast, affordable and effective, with a confirmatory PCR test for those who test positive. This could be a pathway for enabling even unvaccinated people access to travel,” Walsh said.

Restarting international travel is vital to supporting the 46 million travel and tourism jobs around the world that rely on aviation. “Our latest survey confirms that the high cost of testing will bear heavily on the shape of the travel recovery. It makes little sense for governments to take steps to reopen borders, if those steps make the cost of travel prohibitive to most people. We need a restart that is affordable for all,” said Walsh.

First published at TravelCommunication.net

First published at TravelNewsHub.com – Global Travel News

WTTC Welcomes Launch of EU Digital COVID Certificate

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WTTC Welcomes Launch of EU Digital COVID Certificate

London, UNited Kingdom, July 1, 2021 / TRAVELINDEX / Virginia Messina, Senior Vice President WTTC, said: “WTTC is confident the EU Digital COVID Certificate will boost consumer confidence and the wider Travel & Tourism sector across Europe, which has been in a fight for survival for over a year.

“The certificate is a great example and should aid the return of safe international travel; help recover jobs and signal the revival of a sector which will be critical to the economic recovery across the continent.

“We’d like to commend the EU Commission and institutions for adopting this swiftly, however, EU Member States must take a coordinated and harmonised approach, aligning policies to avoid fragmentation and confusion among holidaymakers who needs easy to understand rules and regulations to make travel seamless during this difficult time.

“The devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global Travel & Tourism sector has wiped out millions of jobs and seen its contribution to GDP plummet. The lives of the millions of people who rely on the sector have also been turned upside down by the pandemic, causing huge stress and concern.

“We are hopeful the new Digital COVID Certificate will play a major role in safely reopening a sector that will be critical to saving jobs, livelihoods and economies around the world.”

First published at TravelCommunication.net – Global Travel News

First published at TravelNewsHub.com – Global Travel News

Hopes Rise for Vaccinated Travelers in Europe

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Hopes Rise for Vaccinated Travelers in Europe - TRAVELINDEXGeneva, Switzerland, June 10, 2021 / TRAVELINDEX / The International Air Transport Association (IATA) welcomed the relaxation of COVID-19 border measures for vaccinated passengers, and the broader use of affordable antigen testing adopted by Spain and France this week. This is tempered by ongoing disappointment at the failure to implement harmonized measures across Europe and deep frustration at the lack of coordination among governments worldwide for a data-driven risk-managed approach to re-establishing the freedom to travel.
  • As of 7 June, Spain opened its borders to most vaccinated travelers from around the world and allowed EU travelers to enter the country with a negative antigen test. Furthermore, passengers coming from low-risk countries (including the UK) can enter without any restrictions.
  • From 9 June France opened to vaccinated travelers from all but those countries assessed as “high risk”. Vaccinated travelers from “medium-risk” countries will need to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 antigen or PCR test, and unvaccinated people must still self-isolate for seven days.

“It’s encouraging to see more European countries taking steps to reopen borders. They recognize the opportunity created by vaccination and are making travel more affordable with the use of antigen testing. But this approach is not universal across the continent. Many European states have yet to significantly relax borders at all. This fragmentation should be replaced with a unified approach that is consistent with the recommendations of the EU to which they belong. People, businesses and economies would all benefit from greater alignment across Europe in relaxing measures and restoring the freedom to travel,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.

A consistent approach across Europe is required if the EU Digital COVID Certificate is to be implemented effectively by 1 July. And around the world, governments need to allow digital certificates to be integrated in passenger applications such as IATA Travel Pass, in order to relieve pressure on airports and at borders from more complex passenger processing as the number of travelers ramps up.

IATA Urges a More Global Approach

These moves by Spain, France and other European states are a step in the right direction, but restoring global connectivity requires far more than regional or individual state initiatives. The G20 endorsed a data-driven approach to managing the risks of COVID-19 while re-opening borders. The upcoming G7 Leaders’ Summit on 11-13 June provides an important opportunity for these governments to use their leadership to kick-start a data-driven coordinated approach to re-establishing global air connectivity.

“Connectivity needs countries at both ends of the journey to be open. Many of the world’s largest air travel markets, such Australia, China, the UK, Japan, and Canada remain essentially closed with no clear plans to guide a reopening. Data should help these and other countries to introduce targeted policies that keep populations safe while moving towards a normality in world with COVID-19 for some time to come. The G7 has an opportunity later this month to set a risk-managed framework for re-establishing the freedom to travel in a way that is both affordable and practical. It’s critical that they take up the challenge,” said Walsh.

First published at TravelCommunication.net

First published at TravelNewsHub.com – Global Travel News

Public Supports COVID-19 Vaccine Certificate for International Travel

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Geneva, Switzerland, May 3, 2021 / TRAVELINDEX / A new World Economic Forum/IPSOS survey found three in four people support COVID-19 vaccine certificates for travelers entering their country. Two in three think these certificates would also be effective in making large events safe and expect they will be widely used. Arnaud Bernaert, Head of Health and Healthcare at the World Economic Forum said…

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First published at TravelNewsHub.com – Global Travel News

Singapore Accepts IATA Travel Pass

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Singapore, April 7, 2021 / TRAVELINDEX / The International Air Transport Association (IATA) welcomed Singapore’s acceptance of pre-departure COVID-19 PCR test results on the IATA Travel Pass. From 1 May 2021, passengers traveling to Singapore will be able to use IATA Travel Pass to share their pre-departure COVID-19 PCR test results upon check-in with their airline, as well as on-arrival at the…

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First published at TravelNewsHub.com – Global Travel News

IATA Travel Pass Successfully Trialed on First International Flight

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Changi Airport, Singapore, March 18, 2021 / TRAVELINDEX / The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced the arrival at London’s Heathrow Airport of the first traveler using the IATA Travel Pass app to manage their travel health credentials. “The successful implementation of IATA Travel Pass in this trial with Singapore Airlines passengers demonstrates that technology can securely…

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First published at TravelNewsHub.com – Global Travel News