Etihad Expands Use of IATA Travel Pass to 7 More Cities, Including Bangkok and Singapore

Etihad Airways has expanded its use of the IATA Travel Pass to flights between Abu Dhabi and seven destinations across its network.

The IATA Travel Pass is now available for passengers on all Etihad flights between Abu Dhabi and Bangkok, Barcelona, Geneva, Madrid, Milan, New York and Singapore.

The digital solution is ideal for airlines and travellers as offers the convenience of a one-stop platform for managing COVID19 documentation and reduces the very real danger and risk of fraudulent documents being used to travel and enter a country.

Mohammad Al Bulooki, Chief Operating Officer at Etihad Aviation Group, said, “The feedback from the IATA Travel Pass trial has been positive, with Etihad’s guests appreciating its ease-of-use and data security. Etihad is pleased to now make IATA Travel Pass available on flights to and from seven major global cities, providing more guests with the option of simplifying their journey and airport experience.”

Etihad Airways was one of the first airlines globally to begin testing IATA Travel Pass in April 2021 in support of a global, standardised solution for travellers, airlines and destinations to validate documents and navigate COVID19 travel requirements.

To access the IATA Travel Pass, passengers simply need to download the IATA Travel Pass app for Android or iOS, where they can add their Etihad Airways travel itinerary, view their travel requirements and securely share their PCR test results.

The IATA Travel Pass app also includes functionality to upload vaccination certificates, opening up opportunities for travel where vaccination is a requirement.

Currently the app is able to accept EU Digital COVID Certificates issued by all 27 member states of the European Union plus Switzerland, Iceland, Norway, and Lichtenstein as well as vaccine certificates from Singapore and Qatar.

As vaccines continue to roll out globally, more and more travellers around the world will be able to upload their government issued COVID vaccine certificates to facilitate seamless travel.

The airline is expected to progressively roll out the digital travel pass to more cities across its route network in the future.

Nick Careen, IATA’s Senior Vice President for Operations, Safety and Security, said, “Etihad’s decision to expand IATA Travel Pass based on positive customer feedback is a strong endorsement of the solution. IATA Travel pass was designed to provide a one-stop-shop solution for travellers to safely and efficiently manage their COVID19 documentation and generate an ‘OK to Travel’ which airlines can trust. It’s great to see the app in use facilitating the restart of international travel.”

IATA Travel Pass - Exclusive Video Interview with Vinoop Goel

Editor's note: As the above video interview was conducted over the internet, I would like to apologise that the audio and visual quality are not up to the same HD/UHD quality that it normally would be. Hopefully it won't be too long until we are once again conducting exclusive video interviews in person, but for now we have to make do with what we have. Thank you.

See also: Airline Network Planning in 2021 and Beyond - Interview with Cem Tanyel, Sabre Travel Solutions and Future of Airline Distribution and NDC - Interview with Yanik Hoyles, IATA (November 2019).

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