While Air France tested from 11 March the ICC AOKpass health certificate on its flights from Paris-CDG to Pointe-à-Pitre and Fort-de-France, the Minister Delegate for Transport, Jean-Baptiste Djebbari, sees a bright future for the ICC AOKpass. these solutions for smooth travel through secure, digital verification of Covid tests. " It could be a prefiguration or an anticipation, in any case. a full-scale experiment what a future 'travel pass' or 'health pass' might look like " he said in an interview with RMC on the day the pilot phase was launched.
In this context, connections between Paris and French overseas departments and territories will see a host of trials of the solution developed by MedAire/International SOSthe International Chamber of Commerce and SGS. In mid-February, almost at the same time as Air France, French Bee and Air Caraïbes had announced that it would offer the service on its flights to Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana, Réunion and Tahiti, with tests starting this month.
Corsair recently joined these airlines and will be testing the ICC AOKpass from the third week of March on its flights from Paris to Pointe-à-Pitre, Fort-de-France, Mayotte and La Réunion. " We are convinced that the deployment of these tests will be of great benefit to our customers to make their journey through the airport simpler and easier" said Julien Houdebine, Corsair Sales & Marketing Director.
According to Jean-Baptiste Djebbari, the main purpose of such a system is to " make it easier to carry documents, digitise them and authenticate them. This prevents fraud, (...) There will undoubtedly be health protocols requiring either a test or a vaccination certificate. "The Minister stressed, however, that compulsory vaccination for air travel was still under discussion within the government.
" We recognise that vaccines are only part of the solution, and that digital tools - such as the ICC AOKpass - will be a key part of the solution. essentials to halt the spread of the virus"As John W. H. Denton, Secretary General of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), said when Corsair announced the AOKPass test. As a result, things seem to be speeding up for all these digital health certificate solutions. From 15 to 28 March, Singapore Airlines will be testing the IATA Travel Pass on its Singapore-London route, with the airline planning to integrate this health pass into its SingaporeAir app in the middle of the year.
For its part, the Israeli company El Al on 8 March a guaranteed flight without covid between Tel Aviv and New York, with its passengers either vaccinated or in possession of a negative PCR test. For its part, China will be introducing an "international travel health certificate" for its nationals, which will enable them to travel abroad on business without having to check into a hotel on their return home.
Could the scope of these travel health passes be extended in the future to include other aspects of daily life ? While, for the French Transport Minister, this question " is very different from whether you need a vaccine or a PCR test and/or other documents to gain access to a restaurant, theatre, etc." In the United States, the State of New York recently tested IBM's Digital Health Pass with groups of spectators attending basketball and hockey matches at the Barclays Center and Madison Square Garden. In France, pilot concerts will be held in Paris and Marseille in April, accompanied by PCR and saliva tests, in addition to the wearing of FFP2 masks in the pit.
