SINGAPORE. In a significant step towards the resumption of air travel, from 1 May passengers travelling to Singapore by air will be able to use the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Travel Pass to share their pre-departure COVID-19 Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test results with their airline during check-in.
The pass will also be valid for use on arrival at immigration checkpoints at Singapore Changi Airport.
The move is part of an ongoing collaboration between the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) and IATA to facilitate seamless and efficient travel through digital certificates of COVID-19 tests.
The IATA Travel Pass is a personal secure digital wallet solution that can be used by passengers to obtain and store their COVID-19 test results from accredited laboratories.
“This latest collaboration with IATA demonstrates our shared commitment to drive the adoption of digital health certificates and restore international air travel” – Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore Director-General Kevin Shum
This, and similar solutions that are being developed, will help drive adoption of digital health certificates and facilitate the secure verification of the health credentials of travellers.
As reported, last month saw successful trials of the IATA solution by Singapore Airlines. Following this, the Singapore health and border control authorities gave the green light to accept the IATA Travel Pass as a valid form of presentation of COVID-19 pre-departure test results for entry into Singapore.
CAAS Director-General Kevin Shum said: “We have built upon our long standing and deep partnership with IATA to develop solutions to facilitate travel. This latest collaboration with IATA demonstrates our shared commitment to drive the adoption of digital health certificates and restore international air travel.”
He added: “As we work to safely rebuild the Changi air hub, we will continue to explore other solutions that can provide similarly secure and verifiable means of sharing health certificates for safe international travel.”
The CAAS and IATA will be working on further enhancements to the IATA Travel Pass. They will include enabling QR code scanning by immigration officers and back-end transmission of health credentials from the IATA Travel Pass to the airlines’ and immigration authorities’ systems for pre-boarding and pre-arrival clearance, as well as including digital vaccination certificates in the IATA Travel Pass.
Newly appointed IATA Director General Willie Walsh said: “Having the confidence of an aviation leader like Singapore in IATA Travel Pass is hugely significant. Ongoing trials put us on track for IATA Travel Pass to be a critical tool for the industry’s restart by delivering verified travel health credentials to governments.
“Travellers can have complete confidence that their personal data is secure and under their own control. The success of our joint efforts will make IATA’s partnership with the government of Singapore a model for others to follow.”
The IATA Travel Pass app, currently being trialled by more than 20 airlines, will be available for download in the second half of April.
Travellers to Singapore intending to use the IATA Travel Pass should check with the airline they are travelling with for eligibility to use it.
