Sita rolls out new health data-sharing platform to simplify air travel during pandemic

Successful trials have already been undertaken with travellers to the UAE

Sita launched Health Protect – an industry IT solution to help airlines, airports, governments, and passengers safely and securely share information on health tests or vaccinations needed during traveShow more

Swiss aviation technology group Sita rolled out a new digital platform to help passengers, airlines, airports and governments securely share information on Covid-19 tests or vaccinations during travel.

The company's Health Protect system has already undergone successful trials with travellers to the UAE and will soon start at Milan Malpensa Airport, the Geneva-based IT provider for the air transport industry said in a statement on Tuesday.

"We’re excited for the potential of Sita Health Protect to bridge the gap between airlines resuming normal operations and governments' strong focus on keeping control of Covid-19," David Lavorel, chief executive of airports and borders at Sita, said. "Recovery from Covid-19 will take time and is complex but we believe that Sita can play a key role in enabling a safer, simpler travel experience for passengers.”

The aviation, travel and tourism industries have been lobbying governments and global organisations to co-operate on a common standard to ease travel across borders since the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic. Inconsistent and abruptly changing policies have deterred many people from traveling, leaving airlines and travel-related companies with grim prospects.

The International Air Travel Association (Iata), the aviation industry's main trade group, has urged governments to replace traffic-strangling quarantine measures with testing.

The ability for passengers to share health information such as PCR test results or vaccination certificates with authorities is increasingly important, Sita said.

Its Health Protect platform, which also integrates with digital health apps such as Iata's Travel Pass, allows airlines and passengers to submit these required documents safely in line with specific government requirements.

Sita said its platform helps bridge the gap between these travel passes and aviation and border processes, allowing officials to make informed decisions on whether to approve passengers' journeys from the point of check-in.

"Passengers without the required documentation, or considered high risk, will be unable to check in for their flight, ensuring they do not travel to the airport," Sita said. "By facilitating the inclusion of health pass schemes into existing, proven, and trusted passenger processing systems, Health Protect minimises the operational and technical impact on carriers and ports."

At the airport, Health Protect also integrates with the existing airport passenger processing systems to verify the health status of the passenger at each point in the process using Sita Flex touchless passenger flow monitoring technology, the company added.