Cathay Pacific has completed the latest trial of the Common Pass digital health passport on its Hong Kong-Los Angeles route.
Cathay Pacific collaborated with The Commons Project, Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK) and Prenetics to trial the Common Pass technology on flight CX880 from Hong Kong to Los Angeles on March 15. This follows a previous successful trial conducted in October last year between Hong Kong and Singapore.
Pilots and cabin crew volunteered for the trial, using pre-departure rapid PCR test results to create a digital pass which also included information such as name, travel document number, and confirmation that the negative Covid-19 result was within the prescribed timeframe and conducted at accredited labs.
The airline is pursuing the adoption of digital travel passes to facilitate the re-emergence of international travel and make the journey “more seamless and stress-free for passengers”.
Vivian Lo, Cathay Pacific General Manager Customer Experience and Design, said:
“International travel remains suppressed due to various travel restraints around the world. For borders to reopen fully once again, travellers may need to provide Covid-19 test and vaccination records that meet government requirements in order to travel.
“We believe that digital travel passes will play an important role in helping facilitate the safe, progressive return of international travel. We have therefore been collaborating with our industry partners to pursue the adoption of universally recognised digital travel passes as we prepare to welcome more passengers onboard our flights. A very big thank you to our partners who have helped to make the trials a success.”
A growing number of airlines have signed up to trials of digital health passport apps including the IATA Travel Pass, the Verifly app and AOK Pass.
For a look at the pros and cons of “vaccine passports”, and the different options being developed, see our recent features:
