Lets face it, despite the modern advances in technology boarding a flight is still the most antiquated and painful experience you can go through when travelling. On top of that E-gates choose when to work and having a QR code boarding pass in your digital wallet hasn’t actually helped that much either. So as much as commercial flights to the moon are on trend and supersonic flight might make a return we are glad to see someone is focusing on the basics
IATA has recommended a new digital practice on digitalisation for admissibility which means no more check in desk and boarding gates as we know them
Passport free travel – what we might get :
It all comes down to the ‘One ID initiative’ that air carriers are working on with IATA to streamline the entire experience at airports with biometric-enabled identification
That being said, still some travellers would need to prove their admissibility at a check-in desk or boarding gate with physical checks of paper documentation. This can mean showing passports, visas and health credentials.
BUT The Digitalisation of Admissibility standard will progress the realisation of One ID with a system for travellers to digitally obtain all necessary pre-travel authorisations directly from governments before their trip.
By sharing the “Ready to Fly” status with their air carrier, passengers can avoid all airport checks.
“Passengers want technology to make travel simpler. By enabling passengers to prove their admissibility to their airline before they get to the airport, we are taking a major step forward.
“That is why we are confident this will be a popular option for travellers when it is implemented.
“And there is good incentive for airlines and governments as well with improved data quality, streamlined resourcing requirements and identification of admissibility issues before passengers get to the airport,” said Nick Careen, IATA’s Senior Vice President for Operations, Safety and Security.
What we (hope) travelling like will be in the future :
- Create a verified digital identity using their airline app on their smartphone
- Using their digital identity, they can send proof of all required documentation to destination authorities before they travel
- Receive a digital “approval of admissibility” in their digital identity/passport app
- Share the verified credential (not all their data) with their airline
- Receive confirmation from their airline that all is in order and go to the airport, without needing a passport
Our thoughts …
When this update first came in it seemed like the answer to making airports and travel less painful. With time no doubt it will, but how this app system is designed and how it functions is the real key. After all nothing is more frustrating than technology that doesn’t allow you to progress and requires a manual check up after repeated attempts. This has a striking similarity to the grocery checkout self service of which some will prefer the human element but we welcome any effort to reduce the stress of airports
