Bamboo Airways to trial digital health app IATA Travel Pass

Bamboo Airways officially entered into cooperation with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to trial the IATA Travel Pass, laying a solid foundation for the airline's reopening of international routes.

In coordination with IATA, Bamboo Airways will begin preparations for the trial of the IATA Travel Pass on international flights in the coming months. Through the trial, Bamboo Airways demonstrates its commitment to relaunching international routes, opening borders safely as well as reviving the battered tourism industry.

IATA Travel Pass is a digital health wallet where passengers can upload and share their COVID-19 tests and vaccinations certificates for travel. Health information is an essential factor for both governments and carriers to conduct safe flights during and after the pandemic. The IATA Travel Pass is considered a safer and more effective solution compared to current paper-based procedures, especially when it comes to a multitude of test and vaccination data needed to be secured.

To create the digital health wallet, passengers download the IATA Travel Pass app, and create a digital identity using their passport. Once passengers have been tested and/or vaccinated, labs will securely send data to the individual's app. It then verifies this information and checks that passengers meet the travel requirements for their destination. If they do, they will receive an "OK to Travel". Passengers can also choose to share this with airlines and authorities.

By ensuring that passengers meet the COVID-19 health requirements for their destination, Travel Pass will facilitate more seamless transportation, playing a crucial role in the reopening of international routes in the near future.

As of June, more than 60 airlines in the world have announced the pilot of IATA Travel Pass, including Singapore Airlines, Qatar Airlines, Air New Zealand, Air Serbia, Emirates, Etihad, Ethiopian Airlines, Iberia, Korean Air, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas, etc.

As a member of IATA, Bamboo Airways is closely collaborating with IATA, authorities and related units to pilot the Travel Pass app in line with government's regulations on "digital health passports" or "vaccine passports". With this trial, Bamboo Airways aims to establish an area to check the compliance of passengers at the airport and provide government with valid information to ensure safe flights and repel the pandemic.

"Bamboo Airways is promoting the digital transformation process and effectively fulfilling the market demand and practical requirements in a 'new normal' phase. The application of IATA Travel Pass is of great significance in ensuring Bamboo Airways' provision of the most convenient and safest flights. Alongside the valuable partnership with IATA, it's our conviction that Bamboo Airways will substantially contribute to the revival and sustainable development of aviation in the future, " said Dang Tat Thang, CEO of Bamboo Airways.

Mr. Dang Tat Thang believes that this technology solution will be the cornerstone of the international route reopening, and especially the operation of Bamboo Airways' non-stop flights connecting Vietnam and the US in the future.

"Bamboo Airway's trial of IATA Travel Pass will help move the industry one step closer to a safe restart by giving governments the confidence to re-open borders and passengers the confidence to travel. The app has been developed with the highest levels of data privacy and security, so passengers always remain in control of their COVID-19 health information. And governments can be confident that passengers who are "Ok to Travel" are in full compliance of COVID-19 travel requirements," said Nick Careen, IATA's Senior Vice President for Airports, Passenger, Cargo and Security.

Complying with the guidance of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam on the three-phase plan of restarting international routes, Bamboo Airways has prepared the corresponding scheme and suitable strategy based on close observation of the market and pandemic.

Bamboo Airways has successfully conducted many repatriation charter flights from Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Australia, Philippines, Poland, Norway, etc. The airline is also completing procedures to launch non-stop flights to many countries in Asia and Australia, exploiting the potentials of European market, and gathering pace in the operation of non-stop flights connecting Vietnam and the US as soon as the government allows.

At the same time, Bamboo Airways is implementing Covid-19 vaccinations for all employees and related affiliates. This is the next step in the airline's pandemic prevention process, contributing to effective disease control and the airline's operation of safe flights, especially international flights.

In addition, Bamboo Airways strictly complies with disease prevention measures guided by the National Steering Committee for the Prevention of COVID-19, the Ministry of Health, the Steering Committee of the Ministry of Transport, and the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, including doing temperature screenings at the airport, providing hand sanitizers and masks at check-in areas, departure gates and on planes, spraying disinfection after flights, regularly maintaining HEPA filters on aircraft, etc.

As of now, Bamboo Airways' Covid-19 prevention process is considered the most comprehensive and effective, achieving an absolute level of 7/7.