Air NZ Trials ‘vaccine passport’, a Glimpse of Post-COVID Travel

Air New Zealand will ask passengers to use a digital health pass on flights to Australia in a trial run of a “vaccine passport” system for travellers to prove they have been immunised against COVID-19.

The Kiwi airline said on Monday it will test the industry-developed Travel Pass app on Auckland-Sydney flights for three weeks in April, presenting a glimpse of what international travel will look like until the coronavirus is no longer a threat.

Travel industry leaders expect COVID-19 immunisation will become mandatory for international flights once vaccines have been widely distributed, with Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce saying in November it would be a requirement to fly on his airline. Incoming travellers to Australia already have to provide evidence they tested negative to COVID-19 within 72 hours of their departure.

Air New Zealand will be one of the first airlines to use the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) Travel Pass app, which passengers link to their e-passport and will carry verified copies of test results and – in the future – vaccination records.

(Source: Sydney Morning Herald 22 February 2021)