Gulf Air, Bahrain’s national carrier, announced on Friday that it has started its trial of the IATA Travel Pass on routes to London, Athens and Singapore.
Passengers holding a biometric passport devised by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and flying to these destinations will be able to trial the app which helps passengers manage their travel in line with any government requirements for Covid-19 testing or vaccine information.
Gulf Air passengers will be able to match their travel itineraries with the Covid-19 health requirements of their destination country, and validate compliance.
Bahrain is one of the first governments to participate in a trial of the IATA Travel Pass with its national carrier to help pave the way for the re-establishment of global connectivity while managing the risks of the ongoing pandemic.
IATA has authorised the American Mission Hospital, Bahrain Specialist Hospital, Royal Bahrain Hospital and Royal Hospital for Woman and Children to send the test results to passengers via the app.
The IATA Travel Pass app will have an integrated registry of travel requirements to enable passengers to find accurate information on travel and entry requirements for all destinations regardless of their itinerary.
Eventually it will also include a registry of labs — making it more convenient for passengers to find testing centres and labs at their departure location which meet the standards for testing and vaccination requirements of their destination.
Waleed AlAlawi, Gulf Air’s acting CEO, said: “Gulf Air is proud to partner with IATA as one of the first airlines in the world to commence the trials and we look forward to initiating it on three routes starting from today. We strongly appreciate the support received from the concerned authorities to ensure the success of the trial which will allow passengers to fly with confidence.”
Nick Careen, IATA senior vice president for Airport, Passenger, Cargo and Security added: “Managing multiple pieces of paper for Covid-19 health requirements for travel is inconvenient for passengers, unmanageable for airlines and airports and overwhelming for border authorities.
“We are proud to work with Gulf Air to trial IATA Travel Pass, through this live trial we hope to demonstrate that governments can efficiently manage travel requirements with complete confidence in the identity of the passenger and the veracity of the travel credentials. This is an important step in enabling international travel during the pandemic, giving people the confidence that they are meeting all Covid-19 entry requirements.”
Passengers flying directly from Bahrain to London, Athens and Singapore will be notified with instructions on how to sign up to be part of the trial.
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