SITA to work with AOKpass to embed health app into airport and airline systems

Thirty-day trials have been carried out at airport in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Paris

Aviation technology form SITA is to work on developing a health pass platform to open up travel with leading app AOKpass.

SITA described AOKpass as “the world’s most operationally advanced health pass platform and app”.

It is working with other launch partners including International SOS/MedAire and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), to facilitate the safe return of cross-border travel.

AOKpass and SITA have already collaborated on 30-day operational pilots for flights to and from airports in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Paris.

Another deployment will be launched in coming weeks to support the Hong Kong to Singapore travel bubble scheduled to reopen in late May.

Deployments of ICC AOKpass have already involved 13 countries and over 500 flights.

Darren Toh, chief executive of AOKpass, said: “AOKpass has been operationalising successful large-scale deployments for airlines and airports since September 2020, providing safe and secure COVID-19 status verification for thousands of passengers.

“We’re just one of the many critical players needed to reactivate international travel. Interoperating with industry leaders such as SITA is vital to any truly global effort to overcome the unprecedented barriers COVID has imposed on cross-border mobility.”

SITA’s IT system products are widely used for airport, airline and border operations worldwide.

The integration with AOKpass will enable privacy-preserving health pass verification functionality to be embedded into their systems and products.

SITA said this will “eventually facilitate a seamless end-to-end experience across the complex traveller journey”.

Jeremy Springall, vice president of SITA At Borders, said: “We’re excited to partner with AOKpass on this next milestone in the journey to reopen borders in a safe and cost-efficient fashion.

“Our work with governments, airlines, and airports globally helps to ensure sustainable operations while ensuring a frictionless passenger experience that reduces the risk of congestion at airports and border points.

“A key benefit of SITA Health Protect is a unique ability to seamlessly integrate with multiple travel pass or ‘health passport’ schemes, bridging the gap between these schemes and aviation and border processes.

“Critically, by incorporating Advance Passenger Processing (APP), it enables authorities to make an informed decision whether a passenger can travel at the point of check-in, improving the safety of all passengers.”

AOKpass works with International SOS and MedAire to provide a global network of over 90,000 accredited clinics supporting clients across sectors with health and travel security solutions.

Bill Dolny, chief executive of MedAire, said: “Interoperability doesn’t happen spontaneously, it’s the result of highly complex and ongoing work done by governments, travel authorities, technology providers and health services firms actively cooperating.

“Working closely with AOKpass and SITA, we’re proud to be doing our part for the broader ecosystem committed to supporting return to travel.”