Authorities in Singapore have said today that all passengers arriving in the city-state will be able to use the IATA Travel Pass as proof of a negative PCR test from May 1, 2021. The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) announced in a statement today that passengers arriving by air will be permitted to use the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Travel Pass as proof of their status.
The IATA Travel Pass will also be accepted as proof of a negative PCR test when checking in for a flight. The statement says that the collaboration between the CAAS and IATA is part of creating a better travel experience for passengers.
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IATA hopes its app will help restart aviation
IATA says that its Travel Pass will provide accurate information on a passengers’ COVID-19 health status and will be key in the restart of aviation, allowing governments to reopen borders. The IATA Travel Pass is designed to be a standard globalized solution to authenticate and validate all country’s coronavirus travel requirements.
For an end-to-end solution, the IATA Travel Pass incorporates the following four modules:
- The IATA Travel Pass will allow passengers to find information on travel, testing, and vaccine requirements for their journey
- The IATA Travel Pass provides specific country requirements and testing centers and labs they can use at departure and arrival locations
- The IATA Travel Pass enables authorized laboratories and testing centers to securely send test results or proof of vaccination to passengers securely
- The IATA Travel Pass allows passengers to verify their test/vaccination results with airport/immigration
Passengers like the IATA Travel Pass
Singapore Airlines (SIA) trialed the IATA Travel Pass on its flights between Changi Airport (SIN) and London Heathrow (LHR) between the 15th and 28th of March. The app was so well-received by passengers that SIA plans to integrate it into its app by the middle of the year.
When speaking with English-language news channel CNA about how the IATA Travel Pass fared, a spokesperson from SIA said,
“We have received positive feedback from them and are pleased to note that they are open to using the IATA travel pass app for international travel in the future.”
When Singapore Airlines first announced that they would be trialing the IATA Travel Pass on March 8, 2021, we noticed that in their statement, they mentioned the app would only be for passengers who had phones running on Apple’s iOS operating system. Simple Flying contacted SIA to clarify this, and they responded,
“Yes, the app only works on Apple smartphones at the moment. As this is a pilot, it will run in parallel with existing processes that help to ensure the health and safety of all travelers, including the requirement to present a printed COVID-19 test result.”
An Android version will be available soon
IATA says that an Android version of its Travel Pass will launch at the end of April and that for people who do not have a mobile telephone, there will be a paper alternative.
Singapore Airlines says that it is now studying the SIN-LHD trial data and looking at SIA routes that the IATA Travel Pass can be used on.
According to the IATA website, the Travel Pass app is undergoing trials with more than 20 airlines, including Qantas, Qatar Airways, Korean Air, and Malaysia Airlines.
Have you used the IATA Travel Pass app yet? If so, please tell us what you thought about it in the comments.
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