by Donald Wood
Last updated: 10:45 AM ET, Wed January 13, 2021
Officials from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) revealed its Travel Pass digital health credential solution should be ready for use by major airlines starting in March.
Travel Pass is a mobile app that helps travelers store and manage verified certifications for coronavirus tests and vaccines, which provides more security and efficiency than paper processes.
IATA's Alan Murray Hayden told PhocusWire the teams working on the project have been pulling 12-hour shifts to help complete the project and solve major industry problems associated with the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak.
"I've never in my life seen a project move at such pace," Hayden said.
Hayden credits the rapid development of the Travel Pass to existing technology, including the contactless identity app IATA was developing pre-COVID in partnership with digital identity solutions company, Evernym.
With the development of Travel Pass, the IATA is also looking to get ahead of a potential problem regarding staffing, as Hayden points to an airline in the United Kingdom operating at around 10 percent capacity is using 100 percent of its staff to verify COVID-19 test results.
At full capacity, Hayden claims the delays would be extensive.
"That quite frankly is not sustainable," Hayden continued. "So using the electronic version and using the verifiable credential airlines can push all of this off airport, so passengers arrive completely documented."
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