Qatar Airways has announced its partnership with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) on the IATA Travel Pass, becoming the first airline in the Middle East to launch the new health passport. The Travel Pass will be introduced on the airline’s busy Doha-Istanbul route starting from March 11th, offering “a more safe, secure and contactless experience for travelers.”
Travel Pass comes to Qatar
IATA has developed its Travel Pass over the past few months, with several carriers, including Emirates and Etihad, participating in pilot schemes. Qatar Airways will now become the first Middle Eastern airline to use the digital health passport, albeit on a single route on a trial basis. The airline will invite passengers flying on its Doha-Istanbul route to use the app starting from March 11th.
The airline will be partnering with IATA, Qatar Ministry of Public Health, Primary Health Care Corporation and Hamad Medical Corporation for the trial. If successful, Qatar Airways will likely roll out the app on other routes.
Akbar Al Baker, Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, said in a statement,
“We have confidence in the credibility of the IATA Travel Pass as the industry’s most reliable and innovative solution given its strong data privacy compliance, long-standing entry rules engine and ability to provide an end-to-end solution. We are proud to be at the forefront of trialling this platform, being one of the first globally and the first airline in the Middle East to trial the technology.”
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How will the Travel Pass work?
According to IATA, its Travel Pass will offer ‘a global and standardized solution to validate and authenticate…