- The airline industry has requested the World Health Organization to proclaim that it’s going to be safe for people to fly without quarantining after inoculation
- Development of common grounds for vaccine certificates is a major element of IATA’s proposed Travel Pass smartphone app- Nick Careen, IATA’s Senior Vice President for Passenger Matters
THoD Newsdesk, World: The airline industry has requested the World Health Organization to proclaim that it’s going to be safe for people to fly without quarantining, once they’ve had their share of COVID-19 shot. On Wednesday, the International Air Transport Association stated that acknowledgement of that fact from the United Nations agency is crucial to the formation of a digital-travel pass aimed at getting people moving again, once infection tallies subside.
Nick Careen, IATA’s Senior Vice President for Passenger Matters, stated, “We can say whatever we want, what we do need is for the WHO to come out and say the same thing, so that it becomes a universal acceptance that once you’re vaccinated you should not have to go through any of these hoops. He further added that the development of common grounds for vaccine certificates is a major element of IATA’s proposed Travel Pass smartphone app. Careen also mentioned that paper-based accreditation is more open to fraud, with several cases having surfaced already. The IATA app, which can also be used to store a negative test result, is due to be launched in March.
“We have been suggesting this for months,” he said. “The WHO needs a fire lit underneath it to get this done sooner rather than later. Even then, there’s no guarantee that every government will adopt the standard right away.”
As per the agency’s earlier remarks, WHO’S Emergency Committee on Covid-19 doesn’t advocate demanding proof of vaccination from incoming travellers, as the effect of inoculations in reducing transmission is still in the dark. Nations should instead implement coordinated, evidence-based measures for safe travel, it said.
