Bahrain: Bahrain’s national carrier, Gulf Air, became the fourth Middle East airline to sign up for the trial phase of a digital travel pass launched to accelerate the revival of the global aviation industry amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The airline joined three other Gulf-based carriers — Emirates, Etihad, and Qatar Airways — who will be working with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to test the travel pass in the coming weeks.

“Gulf Air is proud to partner with IATA to trial IATA Travel Pass to simplify and enhance compliance with Covid-19 health requirements and ensure passengers can fly with confidence,” Waleed Abdulhameed Al-Alawi, Gulf Air’s acting chief executive, said.

The e-pass, which will be made available soon on mobile application stores, includes documented health information about passengers, such as checks and vaccinations, as well as specific country requirements related to COVID-19 precautions.

“IATA Travel Pass acts as a ‘digital passport’ enabling travelers to securely and effortlessly navigate their travel plans, knowing that their verified travel credential is based on the latest Covid-19 information, strict data privacy regulations and entry rules for their destination,” Al-Alawi explained.

The travel body was ramping up efforts to encourage governments and airlines to cooperate in creating a standardized system to accelerate the aviation industry’s return to normal operations — which was heavily hit when international borders were first shuttered in March last year.