Airline passengers can now upload the European Union Digital Covid Certificate (DCC) and UK National Health Service Covid Pass into the International Air Transportation Association’s (IATA) Travel Pass as verified proof of vaccination for travel, IATA said Thursday.
Travelers holding an EU DCC or UK NHS Covid Pass can access accurate Covid-19 travel information for their journeys, create electronic versions of their passports, and import vaccination certificates in one place. According to IATA, airlines and border control authorities now can know that a certificate shown by a traveler is genuine and belongs to the person presenting it.
“Covid-19 vaccination certificates are becoming a widespread requirement for international travel, said IATA vice president for operations safety and security Nick Careen. “Handling the European and UK certificates through IATA Travel Pass is an important step forward, providing convenience for travelers, authenticity for governments, and efficiency for airlines.”
In a statement, IATA said that harmonization of digital vaccine standards allows for the safe and scalable restart of aviation, reduction of airport queues, and an overall smooth passenger experience. “IATA welcomes the work done by the EU Commission in developing, in record time, the EU DCC system and thereby standardizing digital vaccine certificates across Europe,” it said.
However, the association continues to call on the World Health Organization (WHO) to revisit work on developing a global digital vaccine standard.
“The absence of a global standard makes it much harder for airlines, border authorities, and governments to recognize and verify a traveler’s digital vaccination certificate,” said Careen. “The industry is working around this by developing solutions that can recognize and verify certificates from individual countries. But this is a slow process that is hampering the restart of international travel.”
In the absence of a WHO standard, IATA urges states to look closely at the EU DCC as a “proven solution” that meets WHO guidance, Careen concluded.