Why Digital Health Passports Offer a False Hope for Business Travel’s Immediate Revival

Since the CommonPass digital health passport was trialled by a couple of airlines back in October, there’s been no let-up in other technology platforms jumping on board and dedicated flights for Covid-tested passengers. Their ubiquity should be welcomed, but sometimes too much choice is a bad thing. Some players in business travel are less than excited about the prospect of digital health passes and the lack of harmony on requirements, a surprising turn for a sector that has been particularly hard hit by travel's standstill. The premise is simple. CommonPass, like other apps, provides a QR code that shows that you don’t have coronavirus. It's also part of a framework that sets standards for lab results and vaccination records, allowing different countries to set their own health criteria for entry. United Airlines and Cathay Pacific were the first to pilot the scheme, but at the end of November JetBlue, Lufthansa, Swiss International Airlines and Virgin Atlantic also joine