Will your Passport be Enough for International Travel

The international travel scenario has changed completely this year. And it won&rsquot be surprising to see various amends being made to travelling norms, owing to the pandemic. Countries across the globe have been stricter, and highly reluctant to let travellers move across borders freely.

While our prep for an international journey generally includes rechecking our tickets and passports, there may soon be another essential item on our checklist. In the wake of the pandemic, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) is aiming to introduce the IATA Travel Pass. 

The IATA Travel Pass will be a digital platform for passengers to share their exact health status&mdashincluding COVID reports, tests done, vaccines&mdashwith the government of the country they are flying to. For passengers, the platform will help figure out what measure they require prior to travel, details and information on where they can get tested, and a way to share their tests and vaccines in a safe and protected manner. 

The global aviation body has announced that they are in the final stages of launching the platform. The aim of this digital pass is to restart international travel while mitigating the risks of travellers carrying the virus across borders. The travel pass will also look at eliminating mandatory quarantine for travellers after checking their test results. 

&ldquoToday borders are double locked. Testing is the first key to enable international travel without quarantine measures. The second key is the global information infrastructure needed to securely manage, share and verify test data matched with traveller identities in compliance with border control requirements. That&rsquos the job of IATA Travel Pass. We are bringing this to market in the coming months to also meet the needs of the various travel bubbles and public health corridors that are starting operation,&rdquo said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA&rsquos Director General and CEO.