All Nippon Airways (ANA) has announced that it will trial the IATA Travel Pass, furthering its goal to “seek innovative digital solutions” amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

The digital health verification app has been under development since last year, and several carriers have signed up for trials in the coming weeks and months, including Singapore AirlinesAir Baltic, Malaysia AirlinesRwandair and Air New Zealand.

Three of the Gulf’s largest airlines are also set to conduct trials, and BA’s parent company IAG has been working with IATA on the development of the scheme.

The Japanese carrier has not yet announced when the trial will take place.

Yuji Hirako, President and CEO of ANA and Member of the Board of Governors of IATA, commented:

“With constant changes to international travel requirements adding to the complexity of travel, IATA Travel Pass enables passengers to easily verify whether they meet the Covid-19 testing requirements of their destination and share their test results with airlines and authorities in a secure way.

“Through our trial, we hope to contribute to the development of the digital solution, which aims to make the travel experience more seamless, secure, and contactless.”

Alexandre de Juniac, Director General and CEO of IATA, added:

“ANA is showing its industry leadership by becoming one of the first airlines to trial IATA Travel Pass. With the trial, ANA is helping global aviation to get back on its feet by giving Governments the confidence to safely re-open borders and re-connect people. IATA Travel Pass will help travelers to verify their compliance with Covid-19 requirements using health credentials securely linked to their identity in a digital passport. And this will put ANA and its customers on the front line of travel modernization even when this crisis is behind us.”

This news comes after Singapore Airlines announced that it will become the first airline in the world to trial the IATA Travel Pass app from next week.

For a look at the pros and cons of “vaccine passports”, and the different options being developed, see our recent features: