IATA and Eurofins move to ease travel-testing

April 19, 2021 in Business, Foreign News, Travel & Tourism by Editor

Global airline lobby IATA has entered an agreement with European bio-analytics giant Eurofins to incorporate its worldwide COVID-19 testing network into IATA’s Travel Pass. Eurofins runs 800 laboratories across 50 countries. As part of the partnership, Eurofins’ dedicated COVID-19 portfolio encompassing multiple test types and hundreds of COVID-19 sampling stations globally will be made available through the IATA Travel Pass.

IATA Travel Pass provides the infrastructure needed to securely manage, share and verify test data matched with traveler identities in compliance with border control requirements. It will help travelers manage these new processes starting with understanding the requirements to travel and helping them identify labs, such as Eurofins, which are certified do to the testing.

With Coronavirus testing becoming a requirement for most international travel, Eurofins laboratories will provide secure, verified test results to travelers using the IATA Travel Pass app. The test result will then be checked against the IATA Travel Pass registry of national entry requirements to produce an “OK to Travel” status. Through the app passengers can share their status and the digital test certificates with authorities and airlines to facilitate travel.

Trials of IATA Travel Pass incorporating the global Eurofins network are expected to begin with airlines piloting IATA Travel Pass across multiple regions in the coming weeks.

“Verified testing is the immediate solution to give governments the confidence to open their borders to travelers. IATA Travel Pass aims to make it as simple as possible for travelers to locate certified laboratories and securely receive the test results that governments require,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.

Eurofins’ chief executive and board chair, Gilles Martin, says “Fast, secure, high-quality testing is a critical element in the fight against the pandemic and enabling the return to normalised travel. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, Eurofins has established widespread PCR testing capabilities, as well as a wide range of testing solutions through its SAFER@WORK™ programs; and has carried out over 15 million tests in its own laboratories. We are delighted to be partnering with IATA and to support the IATA Travel Pass, to provide the testing gold standard to ensure people can travel with security and confidence.”

EUROFINSIATA