A file photo of a Malindo Air plane at klia2. According to Malindo Air, the trial will be done on selected flights. (Photo by Mohd Suhaimi Mohamed Yusuf/The Edge)
KUALA LUMPUR (June 15): Malindo Air will join the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) Travel Pass trials. The Travel Pass is a mobile app that helps passengers easily and securely manage their travel in line with any government requirements for Covid-19 testing or vaccine information, noted Malindo Air in a statement today.
The airline stated: “The trials are a step towards making travel more convenient, enabling travellers to manage Covid-19 related documentation digitally, safely and seamlessly throughout the travel experience.”
Captain Mushafiz Mustafa Bakri, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Malindo Air, said: “We are very pleased to partner with IATA and become one of the region’s pioneers in trialling this long-awaited initiative in real time. The ability to process passengers’ Covid-19 relevant data for travel digitally will be the way forward. We will support the introduction of other initiatives to further enhance customer experience.”
Meanwhile, Nick Careen, IATA’s senior vice-president for the airport, passenger, cargo and security division, said: “We are proud to partner with Malindo Air to trial the IATA Travel Pass and demonstrate that digital health apps can securely, conveniently and efficiently help manage passenger travel health credentials. This is a vote of confidence and credibility for the IATA Travel Pass and a positive step forward towards restarting international aviation. But for the tool to be as effective as possible, we also need support from governments on the acceptance of the Travel Pass at the borders.”
According to Malindo Air, the trial will be done on selected flights. Eligible passengers are being personally invited to download the app and enrol for the digital travel pass ahead of their travel. For passengers to or from Kuala Lumpur, Malindo Air has partnered with selected healthcare labs authorised to securely send test results to passengers via the app, it added.
Malindo Air stated: “Digital health certificates will be a key feature in air travel moving forward. Establishing trusted, secure solutions to verify the health credentials of travellers will be critical in facilitating smooth air travel and safeguarding public health.”
