NEW TECH COVID TRAVEL AIDS INTRODUCED

United Airlines have announced what they term “industry-exclusive” technology to ease the burden of COVID-19 travel restrictions.

The airline has launched the “Travel-Ready Center” – a new digital solution where customers can review COVID-19 entry requirements, find local testing options and upload any required testing and vaccination records for domestic and international travel, all in one place.

United claims to be the first airline to integrate all these features into its mobile app and website.

“While pre-travel testing and documentation are key to safely reopening global travel, we know it can be confusing for customers when they’re preparing for a flight,” said Linda Jojo, Executive Vice President for Technology and Chief Digital Officer, United. “Starting today, our ‘Travel-Ready Center’ gives customers a personalized, step-by-step guide of what is needed for their trip, a simple way to upload required documents and quickly get their boarding pass, fully integrated within our app and website.”

Meanwhile, for its part, British Airways has announced that it will begin trialing a new travel health app, VeriFLY, with customers who are eligible to travel between London and the US from February 4. They thus become the first British airline to launch the system.

NEW TECH COVID TRAVEL AIDS INTRODUCED

The new digital health travel passport, which can be downloaded to a mobile device, is designed to offer peace of mind before travel by checking customers meet the entry requirements of their destination by providing digital health document verification and confirming eligibility.

Use of the VeriFLY app will be optional and customers will also continue to be able to evidence they meet the US entry requirements at check-in. 

The trial follows the recent announcement that American Airlines, British Airways’ joint business and oneworld partner, now allows all customers to use VeriFLY when they are travelling to the US from all international destinations.

Since American became the first airline to use VeriFLY in November for selected routes, thousands of customers have travelled using the app, with many providing positive feedback to the airline on its ease of use.

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