Arriving at the airport three hours early to complete the procedures will be a story of the past as the initiative called ‘Ready to Fly’ is closer to reality with new industry standards, according to the IATA (International Air Transport Association).
The association has developed industry standards' newly released Recommended Practice on Digitalisation of Admissibility which will enable travellers to digitally prove admissibility to an international destination, avoiding a stop at the check-in desk or boarding gate for document checks.
This will be made possible under the One ID initiative, where airlines are working with IATA to digitalise the passenger experience at airports with contactless biometric-enabled processes.
"Such a move will considerably save passengers' time by having done with all the procedures in the comfort of their homes on a smartphone and travel formalities will be a walk through experience," an aviation expert told the Observer.
Pilot programmes are already in use at various airports across the world enabling travellers to move through airport processes such as boarding without producing paper documentation because their boarding passes are linked to a biometric identifier.
An IATA study has revealed that passengers want technology to make travel simpler. Accordingly, IATA has taken a major step forward by enabling passengers to prove their admissibility to their airlines before they get to the airport.
The recent IATA Global Passenger survey found that 83 per cent of travellers are willing to share immigration information for expedited processing.
"That is why we are confident that this will be a popular option for travellers when it is implemented. And there is good incentive for airlines and governments as well with improved data quality, streamlined resourcing requirements and identification of admissibility issues before passengers get to the airport,” said Nick Careen, IATA’s Senior Vice-President for Operations, Safety and Security.
However, travellers may still have to prove their admissibility at a check-in desk or boarding gate with physical checks of paper documentation such as passports, visas and health credentials, as the case may be.
With the Digitalisation of Admissibility standard, passengers will be able to digitally obtain all necessary pre-travel authorisations directly from governments before their trip and by sharing the “OK to Fly” status with their airline, travellers can avoid all on-airport document checks making it a smooth, hassle-free experience.
"A considerable amount of time is used to go through all the formalities at the airport and with this, travel will be as simple as commuting on a transport bus from point to point," he adds.
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