Publishes New Guidance for Global Regulators

The Flight Safety Foundation released a call upon the aviation industry, regulators, and health departments to implement digital health certificates, sometimes referred to as “health passports”, or “vaccine passes” to ease travel and speed economic recovery. They believe that digital certification of COVID-19 vaccination or testing could be rolled out and in widespread use within the next 12 months. 

Like other industry associations, the Foundation sees the large disparity of regulation between regions as a prime impediment to recovery in the wake of the pandemic. ““Commercial aviation has begun the long, slow climb out of the travel trough created by the COVID-19 pandemic, but even the most routine international trip is fraught with confusion and frustration about acceptable documentation, testing requirements and the specter of quarantines, never mind the risk of fake COVID test results or vaccine status fraud,” said Foundation President and CEO Dr. Hassan Shahidi. “To maximize passenger health safety we need a secure, globally accepted digital tool that enables travelers to upload and carry with them their vaccine status, recent test results or COVID-19 recovery status, and that will be recognized and accepted wherever they go,” he said. 

Development of such infrastructure has been done by various bodies, both public and private, but there has yet to be any unified standard seeing widespread adoption.

The Foundation fears that a dizzying array of testing and vaccination standards will create confusion, delay, and harm traveler confidence in the international transportation system. “The only way the industry is going to be able to move forward safely and in a manner that instills confidence in travelers, aviation industry personnel, regulators and health authorities is if all the stakeholders pull together and prioritize development and adoption of these tools.” said Conor Nolan, chair of the Foundation’s Board of Governors. “We need solutions that are scalable, interoperable, and that ensure sensitive information remains secure.

The Foundation’s recently published “Guidance on Advancing COVID-19 Risk Mitigation in Air Travel includes a series of recommendations for enhanced passenger safety and health in air travel. 

FMI: www.flightsafety.org