The EU Digital COVID Certificate (DCC) and UK NHS COVID Pass have been formally recognised by the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
Travellers holding either the DCC or the UK NHS COVID Pass can now upload their certs into the IATA Travel Pass.
This information can be shared with airlines and border control authorities.
“COVID-19 vaccination certificates are becoming a widespread requirement for international travel. Handling the European and UK certificates through IATA Travel Pass is an important step forward, providing convenience for travellers, authenticity for governments and efficiency for airlines,” said Nick Careen, IATA’s Senior Vice President for Operations Safety and Security.
Harmonisation of Digital Vaccine Standards
Harmonisation of digital vaccine standards is essential to support the safe and scalable restart of aviation, avoid unnecessary airport queues and ensure a smooth passenger experience. IATA welcomes the work done by the EU Commission in developing, in record time, the EU DCC system and thereby standardizing digital vaccine certificates across Europe.
Building on the EU DCC success, IATA has urged the World Health Organisation (WHO) to revisit its work to develop a global digital vaccine standard.
“The absence of a global standard makes it much harder for airlines, border authorities and governments to recognize and verify a traveler’s digital vaccination certificate,” said Careen.
“The industry is working around this by developing solutions that can recognize and verify certificates from individual countries. But this is a slow process that is hampering the restart of international travel.
“As more states roll out their vaccination programs, many are urgently looking to implement technical solutions to provide vaccine certification for their citizens when they travel. In the absence of a WHO standard, IATA urges them to look closely at the EU DCC as a proven solution that meets WHO guidance and can help to reconnect the world.”
