Air New Zealand will trial a digital vaccine passport for three weeks starting in April on its Auckland – Sydney route, the airline announced yesterday.

This comes as CoViD-19 vaccines begin to roll out across the world and the potential of international travel resuming.

The digital passport application called Travel Pass, is developed by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and aims to streamline the health verification process to help customers know what they need for international trips safely.

According to the airline there is no central database storing personal information "rather it is shared at the travellers' discretion, in a safe and secure way".

Once a traveller is tested or vaccinated, labs can send the data to the person's travel pass app. The data is then used to check if the traveller meets the necessary requirements to travel.

Air New Zealand Chief Digital Officer Jennifer Sepull said once borders reopen, travel is going to look very different, with customers' health data needing to be verified at check-in.

“It's essentially like having a digital health certificate that can be easily and securely shared with airlines. This will give customers peace of mind that they meet all travel requirements for the different countries around the world before they even get to the airport.”

"By having a place to store all your health credentials digitally in one place, it will not only speed up the check-in process but unlock the potential for contactless travel."

IATA's Senior Vice President Airport, Passenger, Cargo and Security, Nick Careen said the app will help give governments the confidence to re-open borders and passengers the confidence to travel.

“The app has been developed with the highest levels of data privacy and security, so passengers always remain in control of their COVID-19 health information. And governments can be confident that passengers who are "Ok to Travel" are in full compliance of COVID-19 travel requirements."

The airline is in conversation with government agencies about options for validation of testing and vaccination.

Once the app is available, Air New Zealand said both aircrew and customers will be invited to join the trial.