The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has published results of a number of digital identity Proofs of Concept (PoCs) that were recently completed with the support of airlines, airports, technology providers and governments across both Europe and Asia-Pacific.
Results showed that the PoCs demonstrated a feasible route for the adoption of contactless, biometric-enabled international travel via the use of digital identity, which would replace paper documentation.
Working as part of the IATA Strategic Partnerships Program; partners tested how digital identity stored in mobile wallets, as well as biometric verification, can support passenger journeys and eliminate the need for paper document checks.
The PoCs aimed to demonstrate that the interoperability of systems has reached a point in which it is advanced enough to support contactless journeys involving multiple carriers and different digital identity wallets (including Digital ID in Apple Wallet for US Passport holders and Google ID Pass for UK and US passport holders), as well as national digital identity programs such as India’s Digi Yatra.
All PoCs were designed using the IATA Contactless Travel Directory, IATA’s One ID standards and ISO, OpenID and W3C international standards.
Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General, said:We have proven that digital identity for international travel works securely and efficiently.
For travellers to benefit from this important modernisation, governments must accelerate efforts to issue and accept Digital Travel Credentials (DTCs)—secure digital versions of passports. The result will be stronger security, smoother journeys, and greater efficiency.
Full results of the trials can be found on the IATA website, here.
