Tag Archives: IATA

His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, Chairman of Dubai Airports and Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline and Group, opened the 20th edition of the Airport Show, the world’s largest B2B airport industry exhibition, that had generated an overwhelming response in its new physical and digital format due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The three-day exhibition at the Dubai World Trade Centre’s (DWTC) Halls 7 and 8 has the participation of more than 95 exhibitors from 21 countries, 100-plus Hosted Buyers from over 20 countries and 36 exhibitors at five country pavilions by Switzerland, Germany, Italy, France and the UK. These numbers are overwhelming given the prevailing travel restrictions across the globe following the 21st century’s second pandemic and the massive impact it has on the airports and airlines businesses on the planet. The response to the Airport Show is a clear indication of a possible journey of the aviation industry on the road to recovery and its unfaltering confidence and tremendous efforts to revive and restore the lost business levels and the growth momentum. After formally opening and visiting the stands and pavilions at Dubai’s MICE landmark facility’s and interacting with the exhibitors about challenges and opportunities, His Highness Sheikh Ahmed said, “The aviation industry has a history of successfully bouncing back from crises and the Covid-19 pandemic is no different. The setback is temporary and we will again be on the tracks of transformation. The overwhelming response to the Airport Show is an indication of the aviation world’s strong confidence in Dubai and its global efforts.”  “I am happy to see all the industry players working together for a remarkable …

Travelport announced a multi-year agreement with Business Travel Partners, through e-Business Travel, one of the largest consortiums of independent IATA travel agencies in the Netherlands. The win will see Business Travel Partners members migrate to Travelport+, Travelport’s newly-launched next-generation platform that creates a simplified, capability-rich, marketplace for travel retailing. The coalition of 11 specialist travel agencies which form Business Travel Partners has wide-ranging expertise in business, marine travel and individual travelers. Travelport is providing tailored solutions for each member, catered to their individual needs and, crucially, integrated into various existing third-party software already in use. These solutions will all be built on the Travelport+ platform, which will see the agencies benefiting from a broad range of multi-source travel content, an ever-broadening array of new merchandising capabilities designed to improve the traveler experience while maximizing revenue and customer loyalty, and enhanced value generation. To date, more than half of the Business Travel Partners agencies have migrated or are in the final stages of migrating to Travelport+, with other consortium members set to migrate in the coming months. “We found Travelport offered the best combination of advanced and agile solutions, along with dedicated consultancy and support that really made a difference to a consortium with diverse needs,” said Cees Bas, Chairman of Business Travel Partners and CEO of e-Business Travel. “Major technology upgrades are seldom easy, but Travelport’s implementation process was a remarkably seamless transition, with their team effectively acting as an extension of our own.” Alistair Rodger, Group Vice President of Agency Sales for Europe at Travelport said, “Being able to meet the needs of such a diverse collection of agencies really showcases the strength of the Travelport+ platform, as well …

Emirates commenced trials of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Travel Pass– a mobile app to help passengers easily and securely manage their travel in line with any government requirements for COVID-19 testing or vaccine information. The first passengers travelling from Dubai to Barcelona on EK 185 trialled the ‘digital passport’ to verify and share their pre-travel COVID-19 test status with Emirates. The trials are a step towards making travel more convenient, enabling travellers to manage COVID-19 related documentation digitally, safely and seamlessly throughout the travel experience. In the future, travellers will also be able to share vaccination certificates with authorities and airlines to facilitate travel. Adel Al Redha, Emirates’ Chief Operating Officer said, “The ability to process passengers’ COVID-19 relevant data for travel digitally will be the way forward. We are pleased to have been pioneers and partner with IATA in trialling this initiative in real time and soon will be launching other initiatives to further enhance our customer experience.” The trial is being done on selected Emirates flights from Dubai to Barcelona and London Heathrow to Dubai; and will soon be expanded to include other routes. Eligible passengers are being personally invited to download the app and enrol for the digital travel pass ahead of their travels. In Dubai, Emirates has partnered with select Prime Health Care labs which are authorised to securely send test results to passengers via the app. Those travelling from the UK, can get their test done at select Screen4 labs. The IATA Travel Pass app will have an integrated registry of travel requirements to enable passengers to find accurate information on travel and entry requirements for all destinations regardless of their itinerary. Eventually …

IATA called on governments in the Middle East to develop re-start plans to safely re-link their citizens, businesses, and economies to global markets when the COVID-19 epidemiological situation permits. IATA also called for regional coordination to ensure that the plans can be efficiently implemented and urged governments to remain vigilant about the industry’s financial situation. “Re-establishing air connectivity will energize the economic recovery from COVID-19. With millions of jobs at risk from the prolonged shutdown, not a day should be lost once the epidemiological situation enables a re-opening. Restarting safely after a year or more in lockdown will need careful preparations. At the national level it is important that governments work with industry, so everyone understands the benchmarks that need to be achieved to facilitate the lifting of travel restrictions. And at the regional level, where traffic is expected to ramp-up first, it is critical that governments are talking to each other so that all parties are aligned and ready for a restart,” said Kamil Al Awadhi, IATA Regional Vice President for Africa and the Middle East. “This is a unique situation. But we have good practices to rely on. Safety is the top priority for anything associated with aviation. That is because governments have long-established global best practices for working together with industry and with each other. This same approach will help the re-start. There are two ends to every route. Both must be prepared or the restart cannot happen,” said Al Awadhi. “A financially viable air transport sector will be needed to energize the recovery. Government relief for airlines has avoided massive failures that would jeopardize a restart. This has not been uniform across the region. With no …

15below has partnered with Etihad Airways to upgrade the airline’s communication system to address the ever-changing travel requirements caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The 15below platform links directly to Etihad’s reservations system, allowing the airline to automatically communicate with its passengers using personalised, real-time data from the booking. With all the information they need on hand, customers are promised a smooth, stress-free travel experience without unnecessary delays, queues, and human interaction at the airport. Talking about the partnership, 15below’s CEO Nicholas Key said, “A lack of relevant information has always been a huge contributor to the stress that many associate with travel, so at a time when the rules are constantly changing, effective communication is absolutely key to passenger wellness. The work that we have done with Etihad gives the passenger much greater control, promoting a smooth, risk-free travel experience where currently there is more to think about than ever before.” Frank Meyer, Chief Digital Officer, Etihad Aviation Group said, “Etihad is a global player in driving digital transformation within the aviation industry. As travel restrictions ease, it’s our responsibility to pursue innovative solutions that will enhance the travel experience for our guests. Ensuring wellness is part of the redefined customer journey has become an integral part of our business and our partnership with 15below has been instrumental in making this a reality.” Research by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) shows that 72% of travellers want to be kept up to date on their mobile device throughout their journey and three in five want real-time updates during disruption. Acknowledging that a passenger’s experience starts during the booking process and ends when they arrive at their destination, Etihad’s partnership with …

International Air Transport Association (IATA) welcomes the opening of the new terminal at Bahrain International Airport. “The opening of the new terminal at Bahrain International Airport is not only an important milestone in the development of Bahrain International Airport as a regional hub but also welcome news for the industry during this difficult time. The new terminal will provide vital capacity and capabilities to cargo operators shipping essential vaccines and PPE equipment immediately, and open the door for increased connectivity once passenger traffic starts to pick up. Aviation is a key pillar of Bahrain’s economy—this has been strengthened today, taking the country one step closer to achieving its Economic Vision 2030 to establish the Kingdom as an aviation center in the region. We congratulate all involved in this significant infrastructure project,” said Muhammad Albakri, IATA Regional Vice President for Africa and the Middle East. The 210,000sq m terminal, which is four times the size of the existing facility, increases the airport’s capacity to 14 million passengers a year, having handled around 9 million in 2019.  

International Air Transport Association (IATA) is partnering with Emirates to become one of the first airlines in the world to trial IATA Travel Pass – a mobile app to help passengers easily and securely manage their travel in line with any government requirements for COVID-19 testing or vaccine information. IATA Travel Pass enables Emirates passengers to create a ‘digital passport’ to verify their pre-travel test or vaccination meets the requirements of the destination. They will also be able to share the test and vaccination certificates with authorities and airlines to facilitate travel. The new app will also enable travellers to manage all travel documentation digitally and seamlessly throughout the travel experience. Adel Al Redha Emirates’ Chief Operating Officer said, “While international travel remains as safe as ever, there are new protocols and travel requirements with the current global pandemic. We have worked with IATA on this innovative solution to simplify and digitally transmit the information that is required by countries and governments into our airline systems, in a secure and efficient manner.” Nick Careen, IATA Senior Vice President for Airport, Passenger, Cargo and Security said, “With its global customer base and network traffic, Emirates as a partner will also bring invaluable input and feedback to improve the Travel Pass programme. This is the first step in making international travel during the pandemic as convenient as possible giving people the confidence that they are meeting all COVID-19 entry requirements by governments. As borders re-open, IATA Travel Pass will be further enhanced with more capabilities to meet all governments testing or vaccination verification requirements and Emirates customers will be among the first to have these services.”

International Air Transport Association (IATA) unveiled key design elements of the IATA Travel Pass. IATA Travel Pass is a mobile app to help travelers easily and securely manage their travel in line with any government requirements for COVID-19 testing or vaccine information. “Testing is the immediate solution to safely re-open borders and re-connect people. And eventually this is likely to transition to vaccination requirements. In either case, a secure system to manage COVID-19 testing or vaccination information is critical. The IATA Travel Pass is a solution that both travelers and governments can trust. And it is being built with data security, convenience and verification as top priorities,” said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s Director General and CEO. “We are building the IATA Travel Pass with one aim—to help reconnect our world safely. IATA has brought advancements in global standards like e-ticketing and mobile boarding passes to consumers in all parts of the world. This unique capability demonstrates that we can work with industry and governments to re-shape travel processes based on global standards. We are confident that we can deliver a complete solution with IATA Travel Pass. And we are building the IATA Travel Pass so that other solutions serving the same industry re-opening goal can also benefit from it. We want airlines to have a competitive marketplace with the widest range of options that meet their specific needs,” said Nick Careen, IATA’s Senior Vice President, Airport, Passenger, Cargo and Security.

Emirates has launched a suite of connectivity options for its trade partners around the world to easily and directly access the airline’s rich content and other services.Developed using IATA’s New Distribution Capability (NDC) standards, the Emirates Gateway is available via the recently launched Emirates Partners Portal. Adnan Kazim, Emirates’ Chief Commercial Officer said, “The Emirates Gateway suite of connection options has been built on new technology and is designed to address the limitations of current legacy distribution systems. Our aim was to create a platform that empowers us to rapidly develop and deploy new products and services, thereby giving us and our trade partners the ability to offer even more value-added and differentiated services. It also prepares the way for Emirates to offer custom content and dynamic pricing that better responds to our changing marketplace.” Offering improved access to Emirates’ products and services with an intuitive and easy to ease interface, the Emirates Gateway offers the airline’s trade partners the ability to enhance travellers’ journeys with customised products and services. Trade partners can connect to the Emirates Gateway via three flexible access solutions: Emirates Booking Portal: a user-friendly web booking portal available in 12 languages, connected directly to Emirates’ reservation systems that simplifies the booking, ticketing and post-ticketing servicing of Emirates orders; Emirates Gateway Direct: which provides access to Emirates content through IATA NDC APIs, allowing trade partners to build applications that meet their needs with expert support from Emirates’ IT teams; Emirates Gateway Sync: a facilitated link into the Emirates reservation system provided by industry leading, IATA registered, Emirates certified technology partners.

IATA has called on governments in the Middle East to harmonise biosafety measures for passengers across the region as aviation restarts. A global framework for restarting aviation while protecting public health has been agreed by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and published in the Take-Off guidance. However, inconsistent application of these biosafety measures along with unnecessary border constraints are deterring passengers and suppressing the resumption of air travel in the Middle East. “We are starting to see some governments in the Middle East open their borders to regional and international air travel. This is good news but those flying for the first time since the lifting of restrictions face an array of different types of biosafety measures and procedures – which is causing confusion among passengers and delaying the recovery,” said Muhammad Albakri, IATA’s Regional Vice President for Africa and the Middle East. “An effective COVID-19 test has the potential to be a useful risk mitigation measure. However, tests that neither meet the criteria of speed, scalability and reliability nor are offered at reasonable cost, as we are seeing in some countries in the region, have unintended consequences, causing more problems than they solve and will most likely limit the recovery in air travel demand,” said Albakri. “Imposing quarantine measures on arriving passengers keeps countries in isolation and the travel and tourism sector in lockdown. Fortunately, there are policy alternatives that can reduce the risk of importing COVID-19 infections while still allowing for the resumption of travel and tourism that are vital to jump starting national economies. We are proposing a framework with layers of protection to keep sick people from travelling and to mitigate the risk of transmission …