Have pass, can travel?
In the pre-COVID- 19 era which was until March 2020 or thereabouts, the documents one needed to go abroad on holiday were a Passport, Airline ticket and in some instances a Visa. Now, there is another certificate that one has to add to the list of ‘must-have’ travel documents – a COVID Vaccination card.
And yet, possessing all of these doesn’t necessarily mean that one can then simply get onto a plane and fly to where it takes you. There is the myriad patchwork of travel bans, closed airports, and testing and quarantine regulations that one has to thereafter to navigate, for cross border flights.
As of the beginning of February, 32% of all destinations worldwide (69 in total) are completely closed for international tourism. Of these, around just over half (38 destinations) have been closed for at least 40 weeks. At the same time, 34% of worldwide destinations are now partially closed to international tourists.
Meanwhile, there are several challenges for airlines to make it easier for travelers, who have the necessary documents to visit countries that have put out the welcome mat for receiving tourists. Firstly, this calls for the proper storing and instant display of vaccination and test records to limit the time passengers need to spend at airport check-in. In tandem with this, is the goal to minimise fears of passengers being refused entry at borders. Then are the safety and hygiene protocols to be followed.
Global travel - affiliated groups in association with technology savvy organisations are espousing various tech-driven vaccine passports, sometimes referred to as health certificates or travel passes. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is developing a version, it refers to as ‘Travel Pass’, whilst IBM is testing another, called the ‘Digital Health Pass’.
How it works is that the required information is stored on a phone or other mobile devices that the traveler can then show an airline employee and border control staff. The information may also be shown in the paper version by those who do not carry a smart phone..
While the private sector and non-government agencies are actively working on these, there are just a few governments, such as Denmark and Israel who appear to be taking an active role. The European Union (EU) is also looking at a few options – such as the COVID-19 pass that the European Union (EU) hopes to introduce this month to EU members. This is an attempt to assist the tourism sector in the face of the bloc’s never ending challenges caused in part by the sluggish vaccinations roll out, and the risks many countries are facing from new variants of the coronavirus. It is hoped that the adoption of the proposed ‘C-19 pass’ will allow for free passage and travel between member nations in Europe.
In brief, the EU’s Executive European Commission is proposing the creation of a “green digital certificate that carries with it information on vaccination, COVID-19 tests taken and the results including recovery from the disease had any person caught the infection. The digital certificate or COVID-19 pass is intended to people to take flights and cross borders within the bloc.
Some member countries appear positive towards it, maintaining that the pass will enable everyone from the European Union to visit their country with security. Others, such as Belgium and Germany are keen to know more, as they fear that it could lead to discrimination against those who cannot get vaccinated soon enough, or refuse for other reasons including health and skepticism against the vaccine’s efficacy. All this leads to the question: What rights does one attach to the C-19 pass? People living in rich countries will get the vaccine sooner than those in the not so rich bracket. It means the rich get to travel first whilst those who have to wait for the vaccine… much later.
Then again, it is not clear, however, whether any of the passports under development will be accepted broadly around the world, and the result could be confusion among travelers and disappointment for the travel industry. For example, travelers are still subject to showing a negative COVID-19 test and to quarantine in many countries – to the extent that those who wish to go to China; can do so, provided they take the jab from vaccines made by China.
The path to common usage and acceptance will not be easy.
Shafeek Wahab – Editor, Hospitality Sri Lanka, Consultant, Trainer and Ex-Hotelier
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