in the Air transport

Published on January 19, 2021 Add a comment

Alexandre de Juniac, CEO of IATA, said during a speech at the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) that we cannot eliminate the risk of Covid-19 anytime soon, so we need to learn to deal with the risk.

Image: IATA

de Juniac said: “I certainly don’t have to tell you – the leaders of the global tourism sector – how difficult the COVID-19 situation is. But I must emphasize that this dire situation is not improving. Even the weak recovery in passenger markets came to a standstill in November. At the end of the year, many governments tightened travel restrictions. It is good that more governments see a role for testing in this crisis. However, it is utterly frustrating that testing is done in addition to quarantine measures. A recovery must be tested to replace quarantine measures.

We won’t be able to eliminate the risk of COVID-19 in the foreseeable future. So we need to learn to deal with the risk of COVID-19 so that we can safely resume more normal lives and activities – including travel.

For travel and tourism, tests are the immediate solution to reopen borders. And at some point that will move on to the vaccine requirements. For both, we need a globally recognized means of verifying that people have accurate tests or real vaccines.

It’s a big job. This means:

  • Track entry requirements as well as accredited testing laboratories and make them available to everyone
  • Systems for the secure management, review and sharing of test results or vaccine status
  • Linking test results, individual identity and travel processes so that we have a solution that is manageable for airlines / authorities and convenient for travelers.

The IATA sponsors a solution known as the IATA Travel Pass. Others develop their own solutions. We don’t see this as a competition. Our goal is to ensure that travelers, governments and industry have access to reliable, affordable, easy-to-use, efficient, interoperable and secure systems.

The IATA Travel Pass is developed as four independent modules

  • A registration of the entry requirements
  • A register of laboratories, testing centers, or vaccination providers
  • A means for passengers to securely upload test or vaccination certificates to their phones and, if necessary, pass them on
  • A digital identity to verify the owner of the certificate.

Entry request registration is already in use. All four modules will be ready by the end of March. These modules can work together as a complete end-to-end solution. Or they can be used separately to complement systems others build. Our approach to developing these modules is to ensure that they are compatible with other industry solutions. We did this in two ways:

  • The basic functions of the IATA passport are designed to meet the defined global standards, if any
  • And where there are no standards yet, we will publish the interfaces and open them to third parties.

I will illustrate this with three examples:

  1. The verification of identification is based on the ICAO standards for digital travel documents and W3C standards are used for the exchange of verifiable identification data
  2. The IATA TIMATIC is used for entry requirements. It has been used by industry for decades and can be easily integrated into the IT systems of airlines and airports
  3. Finally, the outcome of the WHO initiative to digitize health certificates will be a key element of the app. And I should add that this work needs to be accelerated.

Interoperability isn’t just about what we build. It also depends on what governments will accept. Too often, governments choose to go their own way rather than adopting established global standards. We cannot afford the delays and complexities involved. “

de Juniac concluded: “We have set ourselves the goal of creating a modular passport whose functions work with other solutions in a cost-effective manner. And we need governments that commit to accepting the global standards that make this possible. “

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