Air Serbia will be among first to test digital Covid-19 travel passport

Air Serbia will be among the first airlines to test a COVID-19 vaccination travel pass following collaboration with the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which represents 290 airlines from 117 countries. The airline will start testing the IATA Travel Pass on several of its flights.

The new IATA Travel Pass mobile application will help travellers manage their trips easily and securely and in line with government requirements for COVID-19 testing or vaccination. It will do this by combining passport information with test and vaccination certificates received from participating laboratories. Travellers can then store and manage their data on their mobile phones and share their verified status with an airline before they reach the airport. The application will also offer updated information on COVID-19 health regulations enabling travellers to check if they meet the latest entry requirements set by their country of destination.

The first stage of testing the new application will start in April on Air Serbia’s Belgrade-Zurich flights, and will take a few weeks to implement. According to the airline’s statement on Wednesday, it would be one of the first few European states to join the global initiative which aims to reopen quarantine-free borders and ensure safe travel, along with enabling the recovery of the tourism and airline industries.

“We are proud to be among the first (airlines) globally to test the digital (vaccination) passport.”

Duncan Naysmith, Air Serbia CEO

The Serbian government holds an 82% stake in Air Serbia, whilst the rest is owned by United Arab Emirates-based Etihad Airways. Quoting Air Serbia CEO Duncan Naysmith, the statement said “We are proud to be among the first (airlines) globally to test the digital (vaccination) passport”.