In an effort to provide easier air travel amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has said that it was planning to launch a travel pass by the end of March. The global airlines’ body is in talks with Indian authorities and airlines to sign them for using the pass in the country.

The IATA has around 290 airlines as members, including Air India, Vistara, IndiGo and SpiceJet.

What is IATA Travel Pass?

The IATA Travel Pass will be a mobile app to help passengers easily and securely manage their travel in line with government requirements for COVID-19 tests or vaccines.

Significance of IATA Travel Pass

COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

How many types of vaccines are there?

There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.

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The IATA Travel Pass will be more secure and efficient than current paper processes used to manage health requirements, like the International Certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis. This will be important given the potentially enormous scale of testing or vaccine verifications that will need to be securely managed.

This will be important for governments that are likely to require either verified testing or vaccination proof as a condition of international travel during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

How the IATA Travel Pass works

The IATA Travel Pass has four open and interoperable modules which together create the end-to-end solution. IATA Travel Pass incorporates;

> Global registry of health requirements – enables passengers to find accurate information on travel, testing and eventually vaccine requirements for their journey.

> Global registry of testing/vaccination centers – enables passengers to find testing centers and labs at their departure location which meet the standards for testing and vaccination requirements of their destination.

> Lab App – enables authorized labs and test centers to securely share test and vaccination certificates with passengers.

> Contactless Travel App - enables passengers to (1) create a ‘digital passport’, (2) receive test and vaccination certificates and verify that they are sufficient for their itinerary, and (3) share testing or vaccination certificates with airlines and authorities to facilitate travel. This app can also be used by travelers to manage travel documentation digitally and seamlessly throughout their journey, improving travel experience.

Here are the key points about the IATA Travel Pass

> The IATA Travel Pass will be free for passengers to download and use.

> Verified certificates for COVID-19 tests or vaccinations will be stored on the traveller’s phone. When needed, the traveller will be prompted to release their certificates to authorities and other stakeholders.

> The IATA Travel Pass does not store any data centrally. It simply links entities that need verification (airlines and governments) with the test or vaccination data when travelers permit.

> The first-cross border pilots started at the end of 2020 and the iOS and Android launch is slated for the end of March 2021.

> Since kicking off the development of the IATA Travel Pass in December, the agency is approaching the rollout of the first full pilot with Singapore Airlines at the end of March. This will be followed by a pilot with IAG and trials with Qatar Airways, Emirates, Etihad Airways, and Copa Airlines along with another 15 airlines. It has also received a public endorsement for the IATA Travel Pass from the government of Panama and discussions are ongoing with other governments.

(With inputs from PTI)

IATA Travel Pass: How it will help international flyers amid COVID-19 pandemic

The IATA Travel Pass will be a mobile app to help passengers easily and securely manage their travel in line with government requirements for COVID-19 tests or vaccines.

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