TL;DR Breakdown:
- IATA is developing a mobile application for Travel Pass to allow easy verification of COVID-19 test and vaccine status.
- The IATA Travel Pass will use blockchain to encrypt users’ information.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is building a Travel Pass mobile application and will use blockchain technology to secure data stored on the platform. The information on the IATA Travel Pass will be used as proof of travelers’ certifications for COVID-19 tests or vaccines when booking for international flights. This is one application of blockchain that benefits the masses, according to IATA’s head of the airport, Alan Murray Hayden.
IATA Travel Pass to use blockchain for data security
In line with the government’s requirement, travelers are expected to share information regarding their COVID-19 and vaccination status as a safety measure. This led to the development of the IATA Travel Pass, which is being developed to enable users to conveniently share the information with the airport authorities, the government, and other bodies.
Also, this verification app is being developed in accordance with the Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI) principles, meaning that the users can control their identity without intervention from authorities.
Blockchain in the fight against COVID-19
The mobile application of IATA Travel Pass is scheduled to launch by March 2021 and will use blockchain to store the information securely. As IATA officials explained, the technology will be used to safely encrypt users’ data to ensure it doesn’t get tampered with at any point. The IATA Travel Pass will not use any data repository or central database, according to the report.
“The passenger owns their data, and they share it with the airline […] it’s so powerful, and it’s probably one of the first-ever examples of blockchain technology being implemented in a way that benefits people”, Hayden commented.
Blockchain is one technology that is essentially helping in the fight against the coronavirus. Recently, Cryptopolitan reported that hospitals in the United Kingdom are using blockchain to track the temperature of COVID-19 vaccines before administering them to any patient.
