New Sites and Apps Aim to Dispel Confusion About Travel Restrictions Worldwide

Several new websites and mobile apps aspire to be one-stop shops to find up-to-date information on the travel restrictions in effect due to the pandemic, with information covering countries, cities, airports, and airlines.

The tools may be helpful to travelers, travel managers, and event planners planning trips. A few of these sites and apps offer business-to-business collaborations where other organizations can pull in or embed the information.

Covid Controls was built as a side project by engineers who met at the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research & Technology (SMART) research center. The slick map-based tool makes it easy for international travelers to get intel on the latest restrictions in countries worldwide. Covid Controls typically includes the latest data on coronavirus cases, too, with links to trustworthy sources for more details.

Airsiders Compass is a site that aggregates information about safety measures, quarantine rules, immigration policies, and other restrictions for nearly 300 airlines and airports. It’s run by Airsiders, a tech unit in Berlin owned by Beumer Group.

Check & Fly is an app that debuted this week, run by Airports Council International (ACI). It pulls in health-related measures at airports across the globe.

Google, best known of all, has recently added features to its Maps service to alert users about travel restrictions in selected countries. The search giant added more tools to show average hotel occupancy and flight volume for destinations in selected countries.

Corporate travel managers have also been busy updating their mobile apps for customers. Travel and Transport added in recent weeks a “journey prep” tool, which spells out up-to-date information on restrictions, such as masking rules and rules for quarantining, in key business travel markets.

Some travel management companies are also adding human help. For details, see “The Latest Corporate Travel Agency Invention? ‘The Journey Manager.’“