SINGAPORE, 18 May 2021: Royal Brunei Airlines is the latest airline to trial the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) Travel Pass app.
The app allows passengers to show proof of Covid-19 vaccination and compliance with other health requirements such as having a valid negative PCR test result.
IATA has teamed up with more than 50 airlines worldwide to trial the pass and smooth out any glitches as part of its campaign to gain global uptake for the app with governments, border agencies and airlines.
The mobile app will enable passengers to securely verify that they meet Covid-19 health requirements for their journey, Royal Brunei Airlines said in a statement last week that announced participation in the trial.
Royal Brunei is still operating limited services, mostly repatriation or semi-commercial flights. Both inbound and outbound travel, with the exception of essential business or official visits, is prohibited by the small Southeast Asian nation that has vast oil and gas wealth underwriting its economy.
However, the airline has suffered massive losses and cut back including flight crew redundancies, as its entire fleet remains grounded except for a few token flights from Brunei to Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Melbourne, Hong Kong, Hangzhou, Manila, Jakarta, Surabaya and London.
The airline’s latest timetable from June to October 2021 indicates it will fly just five flights from Brunei to London and 10 flights to Hangzhou in China from now until early October. Destinations in Southeast Asia are served mainly by a single weekly service.
