Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) will conduct a trial run of the travel pass developed by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) – the first airline in the country to do so.

In a statement on Thursday, April 22, PAL said the travel pass will be used for its Manila to Los Angeles and Singapore flights on select dates from May to June.

“We want to make it simple for our customers to travel safely. The IATA Travel Pass will help them verify that they comply with health rules and COVID test requirements, so they can board our flights with assurance and confidence,” said PAL president and chief operating officer Gilbert Santa Maria.

With the travel pass app, users can create a digital COVID-19 passport where requirements for passengers – such as testing or vaccination – can be easily verified by authorities.

The app also allows users to add their itinerary, enabling them to see the health requirement registry as well as a list of testing and vaccination centers in their destination. It also allows laboratories to securely send test results or vaccination certificates to passengers.

PAL joins the 27 airlines from 25 countries participating in the trial run.

“Restarting international aviation safely has been at the forefront of IATA’s Travel Pass initiative. We are proud to partner with Philippine Airlines – the first airline in the Philippines – to trial the app and demonstrate that this technology can securely, conveniently, and efficiently help manage passenger travel health credentials,” said IATA senior vice president Nick Careen.

The Department of Tourism earlier said the Philippines could adopt the IATA Travel Pass “when the time is right.” – Rappler.com