JetBlue today revealed it would launch a new digital health passport solution. The airline is planning to initially offer the solution on flights to Aruba on a trial basis in partnership with the Commons Project Foundation, the government of Aruba, and the airline's COVID-19 testing partners.
Around the world, countries are beginning to reopen their borders in preparation for the summer season. One example would be Turkey, which plans to welcome British Tourists both vaccinated and unvaccinated this summer. However, to prevent the importation of the COVID-19 virus, countries are expected to start requiring health passports for travelers.
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JetBlue's Boston-Aruba Health Passport
JetBlue today revealed that it will launch a digital health passport on flights from Boston to Aruba. The health pass being utilized by the airline is the CommonPass app developed by the Commons Project Foundation. The app is currently targeted at JetBlue passengers using the airline's COVID-19 testing partners, Vault and XpresCheck.
Test results from these partners and other labs in the CommonPass network can be transmitted directly to the app. Assuming that the result comes back negative, passengers will be able to download a travel pass confirming as much.
Aruba will be the first nation to accept the CommonPass health passport for travelers. With the negative CommonPass in hand, JetBlue's passengers from Boston can use a fast-track immigration lane on arrival at the island as employees can quickly establish their COVID-19 status and documents.
Commenting on the health passport, Joanna Geraghty, President and COO of JetBlue, said,
“As one of the first airlines in the world to partner with CommonPass and the CommonTrust Network, we are excited to again lead the way in providing another layer of safety to air travel in the United States and around the world. JetBlue customers traveling to Aruba will enjoy an expedited way to enter the country on arrival, while also having peace of mind that they safely meet Aruba’s entry criteria."
Another health passport
The CommonPass app is the latest in an arsenal of health passports being launched across the world. Another app-based approach primarily being used by oneworld airlines is the VeriFLY app. This works similarly by verifying COVID-19 test results. However, it is not currently linked up to testing providers, meaning that documents must be manually uploaded to be verified.
British Airways and Lufthansa are also developing their own in-house health passport solutions. Meanwhile, industry body IATA is also working on a solution, which recently began trials with Singapore Airlines on the route to London Heathrow Airport.
What are your thoughts on Heath Passports? Are there already too many? Let us know what you think and why in the comments!