Covid-19 testing labs can self-register to join Iata's Travel Pass network

Passengers will be able to visit the labs for Covid-19 tests before travelling and securely upload test results in the Covid health app

Emirates airline has said it will use the Iata Travel Pass on all destinations on its global network within weeks. Courtesy Iata

Covid-19 testing labs around the world can start registering themselves as eligible testing sites for travellers using the International Air Transport Association Travel Pass, a Covid health app being tested by airlines.

Iata set up a portal that provides a one-stop-shop for labs to self-register, the global aviation body that represents 290 airlines said on Tuesday.

"One aim of Iata Travel Pass is to make it as easy as possible for travellers to find eligible labs that meet the specific requirements of their journeys," said Nick Careen, Iata's senior vice president for operations, safety and security.

"The Iata Lab Network Self-Registration Portal will make it easier for more labs to join so that we are ready to reliably meet the requirements of governments as more people return to the skies."

The Iata Travel Pass is set to go live globally within weeks, Iata's director general Willie Walsh said earlier this month.

A number of Middle East and global airlines will adopt the digital travel pass for Covid-19 test results and vaccine certificates, Mr Walsh said on June 10.

Clinics, hospitals, laboratories and analysis centres with a sample collection and testing site can join the Iata Travel Pass lab network.

Passengers who intend to travel will be able to visit eligible labs, which will carry out Covid-19 tests and securely upload results.

“Iata Travel Pass is more secure and efficient than current paper processes used to manage health requirements – crucial for the scalable restart of aviation,” the industry body said.

More than 70 airlines are either running trials or have committed to test the Iata Travel Pass.

Trials are taking place on 151 routes across all continents, it said.

Earlier this week, Emirates said it plans to use the Iata's Travel Pass on all routes across its global network within the coming weeks.

The airline, which was among the first global airlines to run trials of the mobile app in April, currently uses it on flights to nine cities in Europe and the US.

Iata, which represents 290 airlines, expects the outlook for global airlines to brighten in the second half of the year.

Total air passenger numbers in 2021 are expected to be 52 per cent lower than they were in 2019, before rebounding to 88 per cent of their pre-crisis levels in 2022 and then exceeding pre-pandemic levels (105 per cent) by 2023.