Singapore Airlines (SIA) has started trials on a new digital health verification process to enable customers to securely store and present information related to COVID-19 tests, as well as their vaccination status in the future.
The initiative is the first in the world to be based on the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) Travel Pass framework.
It will now be offered to customers travelling on flights operated by Singapore Airlines from Jakarta or Kuala Lumpur to Singapore. If successful, this could be extended to other cities in the SIA route network, the airline said.
Customers who take their Covid-19 tests at selected clinics in Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur would be given either digital or paper health certificates with a QR code. Airport check-in staff and Singapore’s immigration authority would be able to verify the authenticity of these certificates via a secure mobile app, and ensure that the customers meet Singapore’s entry requirements.
Customers without a digital certificate can also present the paper version for manual verification.
SIA said the process is a faster and more secure way to validate a passenger’s health credentials than the existing protocols. This will speed up both the airport check-in process and the immigration entry process into Singapore.
The airline also plans to integrate the entire process into the SingaporeAir mobile app from around mid-2021.