Emirates and the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) have reached an agreement aimed at establishing Dubai as one of the first cities in the world to implement digital verification of traveller medical records related to Covid testing and vaccination.
The agreement was signed by HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Emirates’ chairman and chief executive, and HE Awadh Al Ketbi, director general of Dubai Health Authority.
Sheikh Ahmed said the agreement would “enable contactless document verification at Dubai airport”.
“This will tremendously improve the traveller experience, as well as the reliability, efficiency and compliance with entry requirements imposed by destinations around the world,” he said. “Dubai will continue to lead the way in implementing effective and balanced approaches to contagion control, while facilitating travel and air transport which are crucial to communities and economies.”
Emirates and the DHA will work to link the IT systems of DHA-approved laboratories with Emirates’ reservations and check-in systems, in order to enable the efficient sharing, storing and verification of passenger health information related to COVID-19 infection, testing and vaccination, in a secure and legally compliant manner.
The project will start immediately, with the aim of going live in the coming months.