Airports in four countries have begun testing a mobile app that allows would-be travelers to submit to a test for the novel coronavirus and upload the results so that officials can verify their health records for entry.
CommonPass, a joint project of the World Economic Forum and the nonprofit Commons Project Foundation, is being tested by Cathay Pacific Airways and United Airlines with select volunteers for flights between Hong Kong, Singapore, London’s Heathrow Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey.
The objective is for the app to serve as a digital health pass that will allow travelers to present verified health documentation whenever they board a plane or cross a border.
The app works by having the passenger submit to a test for the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 respiratory illness at a verified lab and uploads the results. Any additional information required by the destination country is entered.
Once the information is confirmed to be in compliance with the admitting country’s requirement, the app generates a QR Code that can be viewed on mobile devices or printed. Airline personnel can then scan the code for boarding.
A larger-scale use involving airports in Vancouver and Toronto in Canada; Amsterdam, Netherlands; Frankfurt, Germany; Zurich, Switzerland; Amman, Jordan; Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Kigali, Rwanda; and Tokyo, Japan, is set for early 2021.
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