by Donald Wood
Last updated: 2:28 PM ET, Wed October 21, 2020
United Airlines launched its health passport test flight Wednesday to help make it easier to verify certified COVID-19 test results while traveling internationally.
According to Reuters.com, the global pilot program has been dubbed CommonPass and is backed by the World Economic Forum and Swiss-based foundation The Commons Project. The first flight connected London Heathrow to Newark Liberty International in New Jersey.
As part of United's program, volunteer passengers will upload coronavirus test results from a certified lab to their smartphones and complete any required health screening questions to generate a verified quick response code that airline staff and border officials can scan.
The Commons Project CEO Paul Meyer said the broad deployment of the program is scheduled for January. Other large airlines are also planning international trials in November and December.
"The goal of these trials is to demonstrate to governments that they can rely on someone getting tested in one country and present their credentials in another country," Meyer told Reuters.
Another goal of the project is to build a network of trusted labs that airlines and governments can rely on to provide accurate results and vaccination records. The approved labs would verify a person's identity for the app and provide the code presented before departing and on arrival.
"The model only works if countries agree to trust health data from other countries," Meyer continued.
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