Ticket? Passport? Add a Covid vaccination card to the list of essential travel documents

Across the United States, domestic travel is resuming, amid a stabilization or decrease in Covid-19 cases and a relatively rapid vaccination campaign. This rebound is yet to be seen in international travel, where a patchwork of travel bans, quarantine rules and testing requirements has blocked cross-border flights.

US domestic carriers increased their regular capacity by more than 50% between September and March, according to aeronautical analysis firm Cirium. Global capacity on all international routes, meanwhile, only increased by just over 7%.

British Airways, Ryanair and other airlines reliant on international travel hope to boost ticket sales by capitalizing on rising optimism about vaccinations. The move is not quite the kind of vaccination passport that some governments and international agencies are considering to create to help unlock pandemic-stricken economies. Countries reviewed documents that would allow vaccinated residents to visit bars and restaurants, or get to the office or a sporting event.

Instead, this is a more modest effort to make it easier to store and present Covid-19 vaccination and test records for passengers who plan to take advantage of certain countries’ early reception for vaccinated travelers. . The aim is to make the transition to post-pandemic flight as easy as possible, minimizing fears of being denied entry at borders and limiting the time a passenger must spend checking in at the border. airport.

British Airways is also evolving at a time when its home market, the UK, is enjoying one of the fastest vaccine deployments in the world. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson last month outlined plans that could lead to the lifting of a month-long ban on overseas travel in May. Airlines reported an increase in bookings after Mr Johnson’s briefing. TUI AG

Europe’s largest tour operator reported a 500% weekly increase in travel bookings to Turkey, Greece and Spain.

Cyprus and Greece, which have intermittently closed their borders to most tourists, said they would start welcoming British visitors without restrictions if they could show proof of having received their two-dose vaccination. Both are reopened to UK visitors from early and mid-May, respectively. In Iceland, the government allows any entering vaccinated traveler to bypass Covid-19 health screening protocols.

On Wednesday, the European Union announced that it was introducing a digital and paper vaccination “passport” for EU citizens traveling within the bloc. The document will contain data relating to the health of Covid-19, including vaccination and testing history. Governments along the Mediterranean have been pushing for the measure to be in place in time to avoid a wasted second summer season for their ailing tourism industry.

China said on Tuesday it was easing travel restrictions for vaccinated foreigners. Chinese embassies in the United States, Italy, India, the Philippines and other countries plan to offer “visa facilitation” to foreign applicants who can certify that they have been vaccinated. Travelers are still subjected to a negative Covid-19 test and quarantine, and there is another problem: the only eligible vaccine is the one made by China. These are hard to find in most western countries.

As part of its plan to make travel easier after the pandemic, British Airways, the largest carrier owned by International Consolidated Airlines Group AT

—Allow passengers to upload proof of inoculation and negative Covid-19 tests when making a reservation on its website. By examining health documents uploaded by passengers, British Airways can verify that the passenger’s documents are in order, just as airlines already do for various visa requirements for travelers.

The first flights for which data can be submitted are from London to India. India does not need a vaccine to travel, but requires proof of a negative Covid-19 test.

“We are preparing for the significant return of international travel in the coming months,” said British Airways chief executive Sean Doyle. “This means doing everything possible to simplify the journey for our customers.”

Ryanair, the largest in Europe in terms of traffic, has developed a similar ‘travel portfolio’ tool on its website and mobile app. He said he was preparing for an increase in pent-up demand in May and June, once higher-risk populations in Europe have been vaccinated.

“Many Ryanair customers will be taking their first vacations in over a year, in accordance with the new travel guidelines,” said Dara Brady, Marketing Manager at Ryanair. The travel wallet will allow passengers to store all of their Covid documents “in one place with no hassle or paperwork”.

As vaccination programs around the world accelerate, airlines are testing a number of other ways to make it easier for passengers to navigate different international Covid-19 health plans. Carriers, including Singapore Airlines Ltd.

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, Emirates Airline and Qatar Airways worked with the International Air Transport Association, an airline trade organization, to test a system called Travel Pass. The system, which includes a mobile app, aims to enable passengers to demonstrate Covid-19 vaccination and testing records, while identifying testing and vaccination requirements for different locations and local testing centers accessible during the journey. trip. Ethiopian Airlines said on Wednesday it was teaming up with the African Union to try a similar pass for intracontinental flights.

U.S. carriers have also turned to new apps to help passengers track various travel requirements and download test results – systems that could potentially be used for immunization records. Delta Airlines Inc.

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CEO Ed Bastian said in an interview with NBC News this week that he expected vaccine passports for international flights to be required for U.S. passengers, but suggested the measure would not be necessary for travel. interiors.

—Alison Sider in Chicago contributed to this article.

Write to Benjamin Katz at [email protected]