DUBAI, 19th December, 2021 (WAM) — Emirates customers travelling from the UAE to EU member countries now have more opportunities to confidently make the most out of their travel journeys.
The airline has been working closely with Al Hosn National Health System team to enable the readability and recognition of customers' health credentials with EU verified QR codes, including COVID-19 vaccine status and PCR test results, on the IATA Travel Pass.
Emirates customers simply have to download the IATA Travel Pass, scan Al Hosn App's Travel Pass QR Code and load the results back to the app. UAE citizens and residents will also be able to upload their negative PCR test results and vaccination certificates performed anywhere in the country, without the need to visit specific labs. This health data is stored in the National Cloud per the highest privacy standards and policies set by the UAE Data Protection Law.
The new enhancements make it easier for Emirates customers to benefit from the IATA Travel Pass and get their "Ok to Travel" prior to their departure to any EU destination on the airline's network.
By using the Al Hosn App, Emirates customers travelling from the UAE to the EU can also reliably demonstrate their COVID-19 health status, and be able to easily enter hospitality and entertainment venues, attend events or embark on other experiences that require proof of negative test results or vaccination. This minimises the use of multiple apps to demonstrate testing and vaccination status while in the EU, and also allows for safer, convenient movement for Emirates customers.
Adel Al Redha, Emirates' Chief Operating Officer, said, "As part of Emirates' plan to implement digital travel verification and make the travel process more seamless, we're boosting the customer experience across the full travel journey when it comes to the administration and uploading of test results and proof of vaccination, in partnership with Al Hosn. We're always looking at ways to expand the functionality of the tools available to our customers like the IATA Travel Pass. Enabling the readability of COVID-19 testing and vaccination QR codes into the app for customers travelling to the EU is a major step to instil confidence and create greater assurance. Al Hosn has put in tremendous efforts into obtaining equivalency for the EU Digital COVID Certificate system, and we thank them for making the UAE one of the few countries to secure their testing and recognition status across all EU countries for their citizens and residents."
Al Hosn National Health System team said, "Our partnership with Emirates is a great showcase of how important and rewarding it is to build safe, secure, and delightful technological integrations.
"Emirates is building a great model for safe travel during the pandemic, and we are honoured to be part of it. We thank Emirates for making this collaboration a success and we look forward to furthering our collaborations. As a national project, Al Hosn is hosted on the National Cloud, and we invite all national projects to join us in doing so."
In July, Emirates integrated the Al Hosn National Health System via the National Cloud in its check-in systems, enabling quick digital retrieval and verification of COVID-19 medical records, regardless of where in the UAE customers completed their vaccination, or COVID-19 PCR tests. Customers' COVID-19 related health information is treated in a highly-secure manner complaint with data privacy protocols, and are immediately discarded from the Emirates systems after verification is complete.
Emirates was one of the first airlines in the industry to trial the IATA Travel Pass and offers the solution to customers flying to 50 cities across its network.