The European Union's Digital Covid Certificate (DCC) and UK's NHS Covid Pass can both now be uploaded into IATA Travel Pass as verified proof of vaccination for travel.
The IATA Travel Pass can be used to verify vaccination status with airlines and at international borders. It is currently only available to passengers travelling with around 50 airlines that are currently using the app, including British Airways, Emirates, Singapore Airlines, Air France and Virgin Atlantic.
“Covid-19 vaccination certificates are becoming a widespread requirement for international travel. Handling the European and UK certificates through IATA Travel Pass is an important step forward, providing convenience for travellers, authenticity for governments and efficiency for airlines,” said Nick Careen, IATA’s senior vice president for operations safety and security.
IATA praised the EU Commission's efforts in “developing, in record time, the EU DCC system [launched in July] and thereby standardising digital vaccine certificates across Europe”.
It has also urged the World Health Organisation (WHO) to revisit its work to develop a global digital vaccine standard.
“The absence of a global standard makes it much harder for airlines, border authorities and governments to recognise and verify a traveller’s digital vaccination certificate,” said Careen.
“The industry is working around this by developing solutions that can recognise and verify certificates from individual countries. But this is a slow process that is hampering the restart of international travel.
“As more states roll-out their vaccination programmes, many are urgently looking to implement technical solutions to provide vaccine certification for their citizens when they travel. In the absence of a WHO standard, IATA urges them to look closely at the EU DCC as a proven solution that meets WHO guidance and can help to reconnect the world.”