The World Tourism Organization, A United Nations Specialized Agency (UNWTO), has announced the first flight that will carry passengers who have digital passports with the proof they are negative for coronavirus. It will take place in July and the flight will go to one of the Canary Islands.
The announcement was made jointly by Zurab Pololikashvili, Secretary-General of UNWTO, and Yaiza Castilla, Tourism Minister for the Canary Islands.
The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) is the United Nations specialized agency responsible for the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism. Headquartered in Madrid, the organization was founded in 1974.
The Canaries are trying to become the tourism industry’s “worldwide laboratory” for safety measures involving COVID-19. A Canarian company has developed a mobile app called Hi+ Card, which is what will be used in this trial. The app will carry a unique digital profile on passengers’ smartphones. A Ministry of Health accredited healthcare organization will upload their pertinent medical information, “…to avoid the possibility of false profiles being created or medical records being manipulated,” said Antonio López de Ávila, co-founder of hi+Card. Users will request these entities to directly store the information, which is encrypted and secure, in their official profiles.
“The necessary steps are being taken so that passengers can travel with ease and airlines can, in turn, increase the capacity of their flights, since this application is configured as a digital health passport, covering an expected need for…travelers and airlines, such as having the peace of mind of safely carrying their medical data that certifies them as free of Covid-19,” said Mr. Pololikashvili.
It has not yet been announced where the plane will take off from, or at which island it will land.
This will be the first flight in the world that includes the use of “health passports,” so who knows what steps will come next. Some other countries are also looking into the possibility of utilizing a form of “health passports,” while airlines such as Emirates are doing quick COVID tests on passengers before they can board. Others still are looking at temperature checks, despite being an inappropriate way to determine if someone is positive for the virus or not. As for this trial “health passport?” It’s a start.
#stayhealthy #staysafe #washyourhands
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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
3 comments
This will definitely end my days of air travel.
Let’s see. Someone gets one of these “health passports.” Two days later, he/she has contact with someone who has the virus. A week later, that person flies. What protection is the health passport? Absolutely none. A politician is the only person who can see any benefit to this process.
I would think the health passport would need to be updated soon before the flight to confirm a passenger’s health status. 9 days, as you suggested, would be an awful lot of time. I do understand your point, though.