British Airways has signed a long-term agreement to extend its digital health pass trial, and hopes to roll out functionality to its entire route network by the end of the year.
Daon’s VeriFLY app allows travellers to upload any Covid-19 documentation necessary for travel, including vaccination records and passes, negative test results and other documents, so they can be verified before travel they travel.
BA has integrated VeriFLY with online check-in via BA.com so boarding passes can be downloaded in advance, allowing hand luggage-only passengers to head straight for departures.
It has also worked with Daon to introduce app functionality allowing users to read QR codes from a variety of documentation like vaccination certificates and passenger locator forms to make it easier to bring together all the required documentation in a single submission.
Multiple customers travelling under a single booking reference can also use just one phone to upload everyone’s documentation.
The trial started in February 2021 on select routes and to date, more than 500,000 passengers have used VeriFLY to pre-verify their travel documents. BA’s joint venture partner American Airlines is also using VeriFLY.
It is now available to use on all flights to the Americas, the Caribbean, Middle East, South Africa, Cayman Islands, Egypt and several European destinations, as well as the majority of flights into the UK.
BA said the agreement, which comes just a couple of weeks before the US reopens its borders to fully vaccinated arrivals on 8 November, would allow it to place particular focus on adoption of VeriFLY by passengers flying transatlantic.
Additionally, it said it was on track to ensure the whole BA route network was “covered by a functionality that allows customers to have their documents checked before travel” by the end of the year.
BA is working with other carriers, too, on VeriFLY integration for multi-sector journeys.
Anthony Allcock, BA chief information and digital officer, said: “We started working with Daon at the beginning of this year with one simple objective – to make it as simple as possible for our customers to understand and conform with different country entry requirements when they fly with us.
“Since then, we have worked with Daon to make it even easier, allowing customers to unlock online check-in and automate approvals for digital documentation such as vaccination certificates or the government’s passenger locator form, helping reduce complexity.
“We will continue to ensure our travel verification processes are the most advanced, reliable and easy to use as we help to get the world moving again, especially as we prepare for US borders to reopen on 8 November.”
