UAE-based airline Emirates and the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) have announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which will position Dubai as one of the first cities in the world to implement digital verification of traveller medical records related to Covid-19 testing and vaccination.<\/p>\n
Under the agreement, Emirates and the DHA will work to link the IT systems of DHA-approved laboratories with Emirates\u2019 reservations and check-in systems.<\/p>\n
This will\u00a0 enable the efficient sharing, storing and verification of passenger health information related to Covid-19 infection, testing and vaccination, all in a secure and legally compliant manner, it said.<\/p>\n
Emirates said that the project will commence immediately, with the aim of bringing it to \u201clive\u201d implementation to benefit travellers in the coming months.<\/p>\n
“Dubai is a leading global air transport hub, as well as one of the world\u2019s most progressive cities in the area of e-government services,” said sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Emirates\u2019 chairman and chief executive.<\/p>\n
“It\u2019s a natural step to combine our capabilities to implement digital verification of Covid-19 medical records, which will also enable contactless document verification at Dubai Airport.<\/p>\n
“This will tremendously improve the traveller experience, as well as the reliability, efficiency and compliance with entry requirements imposed by destinations around the world.”<\/p>\n
Digital passports\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n The European Commission will present a proposal in March on creating an EU-wide digital vaccination passport, Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said earlier this week..<\/p>\n During a five-hour video call last week, the EU\u2019s 27 leaders focused on how to haul their nations back to a form of normalcy after a pandemic that\u2019s claimed more than 500,000 lives and shut down large parts of their economies.<\/p>\n