Traveling Overseas? Some Airlines Now Offer Health ‘Passports’

FLIGHT CHECK International airlines are increasingly offering mobile apps or other digital tools to help fliers keep track of vaccinations, Covid test results and any other documentation required by foreign destinations.

Illustration: Dan Page

Dec. 17, 2021 3:15 pm ET

JUST AS MORE countries began to reopen to foreign tourists, the Omicron variant prompted a flurry of new restrictions. But many travelers, determined to venture somewhere more exciting than cousin Eddie’s cabin in the Catskills, remain undaunted. They’re willing to jump through the necessary hurdles to travel overseas again. A series of new mobile apps and websites promise to help efficiently overcome those hurdles, namely by keeping track of vaccination and testing records and other critical paperwork. Variously called “digital health passes” or “health passports,” they’re increasingly offered by international airlines.

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For many foreign trips these days, you’ll need to provide proof of vaccination or a recent recovery from Covid, as well a negative Covid test. “It’s fallen to the airlines to do the vetting,” said Peter Vlitas, executive vice president, partner relations, at Internova Travel Group, but there’s no standardized app credential.

As soon as you buy your ticket, check with the airline to see if they have an app or another tool to keep all the paperwork together to meet the requirements of your destination. American Airlines’ VeriFLY, for example, certifies and stores vaccination status, negative test results, and other travel documentation in a mobile app. It’s also good for flights on British Airways and other partner airlines. Other airlines, such as Emirates and Virgin Atlantic, participate in the IATA Travel Pass, an app developed by the International Air Transport Association, an industry trade group. But at present it’s still in trials and only available on a limited number of routes, according to a spokesman. United Airlines offers a Travel-Ready Center app that allows users to upload immunization and test records. Delta Air Lines has Fly Ready, an online form you can use to upload all the necessary health data.

What about after you arrive? The airline apps won’t necessarily help once you’ve left the airport and want to check into a hotel or dine in a restaurant or visit a museum, many of which may ask for proof of vaccination. While some countries will accept your U.S. vax record (issued by the CDC), in others, you may want to get a temporary health credential. In France, for example, you can bring your records to a local pharmacy to obtain a “Pass Sanitaire,” with a QR code that can be read by French scanners.

Finally, for the technophobic or those concerned about the security of the data, rest assured that all these digital health “passports,” unlike the real thing, are optional.

Airports in Paris and Singapore as well as airlines including United and JetBlue are experimenting with apps that verify travelers are Covid-free before boarding. WSJ visits an airport in Rome to see how a digital health passport works. Photo credit: AOKpass (Video from 2/1/21)