The International Air Transport Association (IATA) plans to launch its IATA Travel Pass in March 2021, Al-Ittihad newspaper reported, citing Muhammad Albakri, IATA’s Regional Vice President for Africa and the Middle East.
He mentioned that the association is currently testing the mobile app in cooperation with Etihad Airways, Emirates Airlines, and Qatar Airways, indicating that after the launch of the first version, another one with more updated features will come in April.
The move will support the re-open of borders and secure resumption of the aviation sector’s operations, especially because the app is based on information security, ease of use, and verification of information, Albakri mentioned.
He added that this safe app includes documented health information about passengers, like checks and vaccinations, which helps and accelerates the resumption of operations in the aviation sector.
The Middle East airlines recorded the biggest decline of 72.9% in travel demand, due to reliance on long-term international routes which are still almost closed.
In the meantime, the Middle East transportation firms showed better performance in December 2020, recording a 2.3% growth in international demand, Albakri mentioned, noting that the area’s airlines received fewer planes in 2020, which is a 44% decrease than 2019.
IATA forecast demand for worldwide travel to improve by 50.4% in 2021 compared with a yr earlier, which will boost the industry levels to 50.6% compared to the pre-COVID-19 era.
