Avianca Jumps on the IATA Travel Pass Bandwagon

Avianca has become the latest airline to trial IATA’s popular travel pass. The travel pass acts as a digital health passport that allows travelers to store, manage, consult and verify the results of COVID-19 tests on their smartphone.

Avianca says the travel pass trial is not only about making flying more hassle-free; it is about protecting the health and wellbeing of passengers and crew.

The travel pass trial will occur on Avianca’s flights between Bogota and Miami. Avianca is operating around 21 return services a week between Bogota and Miami this summer. Once the airline irons out any kinks, the travel pass will get rolled out on other routes.

IATA pushes for wider use of travel passes to open up international travel

IATA, a trade group representing airlines worldwide, has pushed for the widespread use of digital health passports to restart international travel. The industry group argues vaccinated travelers should have unrestricted access to travel.

Polling by IATA reveals strong public support for digital health passports like IATA’s own travel pass. 89% of 4,700 poll respondents across 11 countries supported globally standardized COVID-19 test or vaccination certifications. 84% of respondents want a globally recognized smartphone app to manage their travel health credentials.

IATA argues the ability to cross borders using a digital health pass smoothly is a strong motivating factor to get vaccinated.

Source: Simple Flying