Malaysia Airlines to Integrate IATA Travel Pass into its Own App

Malaysia Airlines has unveiled plans to launch a Digital Travel Health Pass.

The app will incorporate some modules of the IATA Travel Pass that have been developed to help combat the use of fake COVID19 test / vaccine certificates and to give travelers more control of their journey.

Izham Ismail, CEO of Malaysia Aviation Group,  said, “We are excited to make history together with IATA, and help reopen travel nationally and worldwide. Part of our promise to ensure passengers can Fly Confidently, the Digital Travel Health Pass will open the way for us to take the brave next step into the world in a post-pandemic time, instilling confidence in our passengers and providing access to an easy-to-navigate way to prepare for their upcoming travels.”

The Digital Travel Health Pass, which will be integrated with the Malaysia Airlines mobile app, will kickstart and streamline a passenger’s travel journey, with simple easy-to-follow steps before they start on their trip.

Passengers can use the app to make appointments with certified medical partners to carry out a COVID19 RT-PCR test, or include their COVID19 vaccination certificate on their mobile phones, making the process of tackling their travel requirements much more straightforward and manageable.

In addition, passengers can verify their travel eligibility with the airline, making sure that they are aware and informed of the constantly developing travel policies worldwide.

The Digital Travel Health Pass will also integrate modules from the IATA Travel Pass that enable passengers to create a digital passport, verify their test/vaccination requirements and status, and share their “OK to Travel” status with the relevant authorities. This digital ID on the app will pave the way for Malaysia Airlines’ passengers to eventually take advantage of contactless technology options throughout the travel processes.

“Partnering with Malaysia Airlines to integrate IATA Travel Pass into the airlines’ own app is an important milestone for the IATA Travel Pass. It will demonstrate the apps interoperability, an important feature supporting its global uptake. Built with data privacy, security and convenience in mind, the IATA travel app is a solution that both governments and passengers can trust whether it is stand-alone or incorporated into an airline’s own travel app,” said Nick Careen, IATA’s Senior Vice President Airport, Passenger, Cargo, Security.

Malaysia Airlines is working closely with the relevant authorities to roll out the health pass and is expected to  sharing more details in the coming weeks.

IATA Travel Pass - Exclusive Video Interview with Vinoop Goel

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Editor's note: As the above video interview was conducted over the internet, I would like to apologise that the audio and visual quality are not up to the same HD/UHD quality that it normally would be. Hopefully it won't be too long until we are once again conducting exclusive video interviews in person, but for now we have to make do with what we have. Thank you.

See also: Future of Airline Distribution and NDC - Interview with Yanik Hoyles, IATA (November 2019).

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