With the outbreak of COVID-19, the whole world just stopped. For many months no idea came to mind on how to manage our routine activities without getting infected. One of the topmost adventures of them all was traveling. Not just for pleasure but business also.
It is clear as the sun that we won’t be able to see a real resumption of international travel under the current messy array of different border controls and entry necessities. In the past months, the travel industry has consulted with health experts and they have come up with new methods on how to keep traveling alive.
To start returning to a pre-pandemic time, not only the universal COVID-19 testing and tracing have to be implemented, but travelers will also need to efficient their testing status and, in time, hopefully very soon, vaccination.
A new digital health passport will help travelers to secure documents and carry their COVID-19 test results with certified health status and at the same time, keep the rest of their health information private. World Economic Forum has mentioned that Enter CommonPass, is a new idea! The ability to verify test results, from a certified lab. This digital passport could be the key to a broader opening for international borders.
The Common Project is a non-profit started in Switzerland and is currently working in coincidence with agents of 37 countries in six continents. This company has just begun its international trials of CommonPass, which also offers other countries the flexibility to adapt their entry necessities as the pandemic grows and applies them in real-time.
The first airline to pilot the platform using volunteers on flights between London Heathrow Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport will be United Airlines.
Right now, there is no regular system for travelers to report their COVID-19 test results. They come from unknown labs and evidence of the results is by photos or screenshots of a printed page that could easily be forged.