TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
ANA trials COVID digital health passport at Tokyo airport
The app, one of a number of digital health passports being trialed around the world to allow airlines and authorities to expedite immigration procedures at airports, is backed by the World Economic Forum. It certifies both coronavirus test results and vaccination status.
Change Size
The logo of All Nippon Airways (ANA) is seen on its counter in front of a social distance sign amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, at a terminal of the Tokyo International Airport in Tokyo, Japan October 27, 2020. (REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon)
A
ll Nippon Airways on Monday conducted Japan's first trial of the "CommonPass" app indicating a traveler's COVID-19 status at Tokyo's Haneda airport as part of efforts by the global travel industry to make cross-border travel easier and safer.
The app, one of a number of digital health passports being trialed around the world to allow airlines and authorities to expedite immigration procedures at airports, is backed by the World Economic Forum. It certifies both coronavirus test results and vaccination status.
The Commons Project Foundation, the developer of CommonPass, said it aims to launch the digital platform in countries worldwide for "a more trustworthy model for validating the health status of incoming travelers" as virus test results are usually presented in the form of paper documentation with no global standard format.
The app will not reveal any other underlying personal health information, according to ANA and the foundation.
At Tokyo's Haneda airport, ANA officials checked a passenger's smartphone to confirm negative virus test results at a check-in counter for a flight departing for New York.
"As the process went smoothly, I had more time and energy to spare," said Ikuko Osato, a 44-year-old nurse from Fukushima Prefecture who participated in the test run as a volunteer.
Commenting on the project, Juichi Hirasawa, ANA senior vice president for corporate planning, said, "We are constantly looking for ways to make the travel experience safer and more convenient."
"Our trials of the CommonPass Health application will help us to ensure that these procedures will enable us to simplify international travel while also protecting passenger privacy," Hirasawa said.
