8
◼ REMARKS Bloomberg Businessweek December 21, 2020andtestingtorestoreconsumerconfidence.Theglobal
airline industry, facing $157 billion in losses through next year,
is leading the way with trials of competing digital apps that
display test results and, soon, vaccination records.
Most work the same way: A certified medical clinic or lab-
oratory uploads test results or inoculation records to an app
that generates a QR code to present at check-in or immigra-
tion without revealing private information. Some of the apps
employ blockchain technology to enable users to maintain
privacy while sharing data; in others the data may be stored
in a central repository or on people’s phones.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA), the
global airline lobby, is working on its own mobile app called
Travel Pass, which it’s testing with British Airways parent
IAG SA this year before it arrives on Apple Inc. and Android
devices in the first quarter of 2021, says Nick Careen, the orga-
nization’s senior vice president of airport passenger cargo and
security. It’s based on the existing IATA Timatic system used by
airlines and airports, including Heathrow, to verify documents
such as passports, which may give it an edge over competitors.
IATAisn’tintentonacquiringa monopoly.“Oursystem
isn’tmeanttobetheonlygameintown,”Careensays.“Itwill
bemessybeforethingsareinteroperable and harmonized.”
That seems certain, judging from the number of apps
already vying for a piece of the market. International SOS, a
French travel security company, developed AOKpass with two
Singaporean startups to display verified test records. Backed
by the International Chamber of Commerce, the AOKpass is
being used by Etihad Airways PJSC on flights between Abu
Dhabi and Karachi and Islamabad in Pakistan, routes the
emirate wanted reestablished to safely return workers who
left when immigration rules were tightened as part of a gov-
ernment effort to contain the spread of Covid. Rome’s airport
is also using it for flights to Atlanta and New York.
International SOS co-founder Arnaud Vaissie says he
expects systems to be built corridor by corridor, with many
governments requiring proof of vaccination when crossing
borders. Companies are also using the app to track work-
ers at remote sites such as oil platforms and mines. Digital
immunity passports would help combat the forgery of med-
ical records. “The point of going digital is so the whole thing
can be traceable and secure,” he says.
Perhaps the most surprising entrant into the field is a
Swiss nonprofit backed by the World Economic Forum
that’s developed a digital health app called CommonPass.
It’s being deployed by some of the world’s biggest airlines,
including JetBlue, Lufthansa, Swiss International, United,
and Virgin Atlantic on flights to New York, Boston, London,
and Hong Kong.
The Swiss nonprofit Commons Project Foundation got
involved in March when it began work on a plan to ease traf-
fic chaos jamming critical Kenyan border crossings. The tech-
nology allows truck drivers delivering essential goods to show
certified test results on their mobile phones to gain entry into
neighboring countries. CEO Paul Meyer sees CommonPassbeingusedinshipping,schools,hotels,andconcertvenues.
He’s even had talks with the Japanese government about using
it for the Olympics in summer 2021. “Vaccination records
aren’t something people might need just to get onto an air-
plane, but also to enroll in a school,” he says. “There’s a real
need for a global model.”
Ticketmaster Entertainment Inc., the world’s largest seller
of tickets to concerts and sporting events, is exploring using
third-party digital tools that would include testing and vac-
cineinformationif eventorganizerswanttocarryouthealth
verificationsonfans.“We’realreadyseeingmanythird-party
health-careproviderspreparetohandlethevetting—whether
that is getting a vaccine, taking a test, or other methods
of review and approval—which could then be linked via a
digital ticket so everyone entering the event is verified,”
Ticketmaster President Mark Yovich told Billboard last month.
Large events aren’t likely to resume for months, but
Ticketmaster is in discussions with International Business
Machines Corp. about using its digital health pass, says Eric
Piscini, vice president of IBM Watson Health. More than a
dozen clients now use the technology, which was originally
developed as part of the drive to digitize health records,
but the pipeline includes hundreds of companies, he says.
As testing became cheaper and vaccines looked likely to get
approved, inquiries surged. “The last few months have been
very intense for us,” Piscini says. “We haven’t slept much.”
He says his team has been in discussions with
CommonPass, IATA, and others to make sure the different
platforms recognize each other. In many cases, the IBM pass
will be integrated into existing apps offered by sports teams
or airlines to display green or red cards that can be attached
to tickets indicating whether someone is good to go. Testing,
he believes, will remain common even as vaccines get rolled
out. Multiple apps will be inevitable. “It would be awesome
to have one platform,” Piscini says. “But it’s unrealistic.”
With the pandemic accelerating our embrace of tech-
nology, the use of digital medical records will probably
become as routine as Zoom calls. If you think you have too
many apps on your phone now, just wait until next year. <BW>
�With Corinne Gretler and Angus WhitleyDATA: OAG SCHEDULES ANALYZERScheduled Departing Flights
12-month change for the week of Dec. 14Hong Kong
Germany
U.K.
UAE
South Korea
Australia
U.S.
Japan
India
China-88%