China Airlines is closely monitoring the latest developments in digital health platforms as part of its pandemic prevention program. On August 30, one of Taiwan's major carriers, China Airlines will begin trialing the IATA Travel Pass launched by the International Air Transport Association to provide digital health verification. The IATA Travel Pass will initially be trialed on flights returning to Taiwan from 8 destinations (Los Angeles, Ontario, San Francisco, New York, Vancouver (Canada), Frankfurt (Germany), London (UK) and Singapore. This service will expedite the check-in process, reduce unnecessary human contact, and provide passengers with greater peace of mind during their flight.

China Airlines has partnered with IATA to trial the Travel Pass on flights to Taiwan from the US, Canada, Germany, UK and Singapore. Information about the trial can be found in the “Novel Coronavirus Service Information” section of the China Airlines website. To participate, download the Travel Pass app from the App Store or Google Play. First, complete the online registration process. Then, go to a designated hospital to take the PCR test. The hospital will update the IATA Travel Pass with an electronic copy of the PCR test report that passengers can present at check-in. Their health information can then be readily checked by China Airlines ground staff, minimizing the amount of contact and expediting the entire check-in process.

Contact-free services will become a key trend for future of air travel. China Airlines partnered with the Affinidi digital health verification platform from April this year to trial digital health verification and simplify the check-in process on flights returning to Taiwan from Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. The new partnership with IATA will expand digital verification services to destinations in Europe and North America. After this IATA trial run, the results will be assessed to see if the program can be expanded to cover more China Airlines flights. Concurrently, China Airlines is also actively seeking out other international digital verification platforms to do more testing, with the goal of further optimizing its own digital pandemic services. Negotiations are also under way with system operators to digitize health declarations and reduce physical contact points. To provide travelers with a safe and convenient travel experience, China Airlines is also working with the “Digital Proof of Vaccination Platform” that is under development in Taiwan to check travelers’ COVID-19 vaccination and PCR testing records.

China Airlines continues to focus on pandemic prevention and reduction of transmission risk. We closely monitor the direction and actions of international aviation organizations as well. Joining SkyTeam’s SkyCare&Protect project from last year (2020), China Airlines implemented pandemic prevention and flight safety measures, including the complete disclosure of travel information on our official website and the promotion of contactless services. Travelers are encouraged by China Airlines to complete their flight and luggage check-in procedures online. Automated facial recognition self-service boarding were also incrementally introduced at the San Francisco, Hong Kong, New York, and Songshan (Taipei) airport stations. In July China Airlines also added a “Flysafe Information & Service” section to consolidate all COVID-19 information and to provide comprehensive, value-added services. The platform can be used as a one-stop shop for booking accommodations, transport and hospital testing services. (2021/08/17)