This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on March 1, 2021 - March 7, 2021
AS the gradual rollout of Covid-19 vaccines helps to restore consumer confidence in aviation, airlines and airports are pushing countries around the world to introduce vaccine passports or travel passes as well as travel bubbles to hasten the reopening of borders and allow international travel to resume.
According to International Air Transport Association (IATA) regional vice-president for Asia-Pacific Conrad Clifford, the two largest barriers to travel are currently quarantine and a lack of knowledge about regulations.
“A lot of people are not travelling simply because they don’t know whether they are allowed to travel. A lot of airlines were approaching us and saying, ‘Look, how can we get this information to our customers because we know people want to travel but they don’t know whether they can travel’. At the same time, the governments were asking us if we could provide a secure means of verification,” he says, explaining why the global airlines’ grouping has embarked on developing the IATA Travel Pass.
The travel pass is essentially a digital mobile app that allows passengers’ identity and Covid-19 testing or vaccination certificates to be stored. Set to be launched on both the iOS and Android platforms this month (March), the app is expected to be a key enabler for the reopening of borders and getting the world flying again — without the need for quarantine.
“The passenger will be in control of the data and choose who he or she wants to share it with, be it an airline or the government. The passenger can also delete the data in the app anytime,” says IATA regional director of airports and external relations for Asia-Pacific Vinoop Goel, adding that the digital travel pass is designed to comply with the various privacy regulations across the world, particularly the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation.
“IATA’s priority right now is to make sure the airline industry, especially international travel, gets back on its feet. We are conscious of the fact that many airlines are struggling financially, so we are not looking at this [travel pass] as a big revenue generator. We will keep costs at a bare minimum, just enough to cover our cost of developing the app.”
To date, Malaysia Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Air New Zealand, Copa Airlines, Etihad Airways, Emirates, Qatar Airways and RwandAir are among the carriers that have announced their support for the implementation of the IATA Travel Pass.
Last Wednesday, Malaysia Airlines announced its Digital Travel Health Pass, which will be integrated with its mobile app and will incorporate some modules of the IATA Travel Pass. The airline said it is currently working closely with the relevant authorities to roll out the health pass and will be sharing more details in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, Goel notes that while Covid-19 vaccinations will help restore people’s confidence in travel, “that would take a few months to roll out in large numbers”. “In the meantime, Covid-19 testing is the solution that can help in reopening borders [sooner] and passengers are willing to get tested in order to travel,” he said at a recent media briefing on the IATA Travel Pass.
Clifford concurs. “Vaccinations could take 12 to 24 months and they are very dependent on the availability of the vaccines to be rolled out globally. Thus, we see a combination of testing and vaccinations as being the long-term solutions to reopening borders,” he says.
“And it is our hope that once vaccinations become widespread, it will be possible for governments to consider that they don’t need to impose quarantine on passengers who are already vaccinated or hold the essential health certificates.”
The airline grouping is cognisant that countries around the world are in different stages of handling the Covid-19 crisis. “It is expected that only when countries are comfortable with the downward trajectory of the virus in more markets will they pay more attention to reopening borders. So, the level of acceptance [towards the IATA Travel Pass] among countries will vary,” says Goel.
Pangolin Investment Management Pte Ltd director Mohshin Aziz says while there is no shortage of demand in terms of people who want to travel, the biggest stumbling block is quarantine, noting that there is currently no uniformity in the duration of quarantine among countries.
“Some countries’ [quarantine durations] are shorter while others are longer. If there can be a common standard operating procedure (SOP) and one that can assure people that air travel is safe, I believe that will be the catalyst towards the recovery of the aviation industry,” he said at a recent Academy of Sciences Malaysia webinar on “The Aviation Industry: Taking Us to The Skies Again?”
Another panellist, Mohamed Sallauddin Mohamed Shah, general manager of aviation marketing and development at Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd, urged the government to consider pursuing travel bubbles with countries that pose a low risk of transmission of Covid-19 to help restart international travel.
“I believe travel bubbles can be a catalyst to the revival of international travel because there will be protocols and SOPs put in place and all parties and stakeholders such as airlines, airport authorities, immigration and foreign affairs must comply with these,” he said.
“We have seen how the Reciprocal Green Lane between Malaysia and Singapore worked. Unfortunately, the numbers were not encouraging because of the 14-day quarantine requirement.”
It was reported that Sri Lanka and Maldives have reopened their borders without the mandatory quarantine, but travellers are required to move in “bio bubbles” for the first two weeks of their stay, that is, moving in groups that let travellers sightsee without mixing with the local population. Thereafter, they are no longer bound by the restrictions. Thailand is reportedly considering this concept.
Save by subscribing to us for your print and/or digital copy.
P/S: The Edge is also available on Apple's AppStore and Androids' Google Play.