ABU DHABI — Etihad Airways, the national carrier of the United Arab Emirates, has begun a trial of the IATA Travel Pass app to manage passengers' travel health credentials from Abu Dhabi to Chicago, New York, Washington, and Toronto, until May 31.

Mohammad Al Bulooki, Chief Operating Officer, Etihad Aviation Group, said, "With the dynamically changing health requirements for travel, Etihad believes that a digital health passport solution will provide additional clarity and ease for travelers. Etihad has partnered with IATA so that together, a globally unified approach to a travel pass can be simplified to make travel easier once governments decide what regulations are required to cross borders in either direction."

To participate in the trial, guests simply download the IATA Travel Pass app from the Apple App Store and book an appointment with Life Diagnostics at Sultan Bin Zayed the First Street or BioGenix Labs at Masdar City. At the clinic, guests inform reception they are participating in the IATA Travel Pass trial and should be ready to show their passport and mobile device with the IATA Travel Pass app downloaded. Once the test result is ready, travelers will be able to view it on both the IATA Travel Pass app and through the testing clinic’s own digital platform.

"Etihad Airways trial of IATA Travel Pass will help build confidence among governments and travelers that digital health apps can safely, securely and conveniently help restart aviation. The app gives travelers a one-stop-shop to help them comply with the new rules for travel, and for governments complete assurance in the identity of the passenger and the authenticity of the travel credentials being presented," said Nick Careen, IATA Senior Vice President for Airport, Passenger, Cargo, and Security.

The IATA Travel Pass will enable Etihad’s guests to create a "digital passport" to receive COVID-19 test results and verify they are eligible to undertake their journey. Importantly, IATA Travel Pass will keep passengers in control of their data and facilitate the sharing of their tests with airlines and authorities for travel. It will also make it convenient for passengers to manage travel documentation throughout their journey.

Guests participating in the IATA Travel Pass pilot will benefit from priority queue access at Life Diagnostics and Biogenix Labs for their PCR test, faster check-in at the airport and a free 90MB Wi-Fi voucher to use in-flight. Guest who does not wish to participate in the trial can continue to follow the existing method of sharing PCR test results with Etihad by presenting a printed copy of their results at check-in. — WAM