AirAsia Philippines to roll out vaccine passport app

FILE PHOTO: A registered pharmacist fills a dead volume syringe with the COVID-19 vaccine on January 23, 2021. Mary Altaffer/Pool via REUTERS

MANILA, Philippines — Budget carrier Air Asia Philippines is rolling out a digital vaccine passport aimed at easing travel requirements for flyers and helping the government verify fake COVID-19 tests.

AirAsia Philippines spokesman Steve Dailisan said during an online briefing on Wednesday their vaccine passport would be a mobile app, which they expect to begin testing this month.

He added they were also working to comply with certain requirements from the Department of Information and Communications Technology.

“AirAsia is in the process of developing an app similar to the vaccine passport that would help the government in promoting fast, efficient, and contactless requirement portals,” Dailisan said in a separate statement on Wednesday.

“The app will also eliminate the proliferation of fake RT-PCR results and vaccination cards,” he added.

Based on an AirAsia Philippines survey conducted last month, nearly 80 percent of participants preferred to present vaccine cards instead of taking RT-PCR or antigen tests.

In fact, over 90 percent of survey participants believed people who were fully vaccinated were more likely to travel if the testing requirements were cheaper or removed.

For its part, AirAsia Philippines has been ramping up the vaccination of its local workforce, reaching nearly 70 percent as of August 2. The target was to raise this to 100 percent, or roughly 1,500 employees, by the end of 2021.

“We are very pleased that our efforts of inoculating the whole AirAsia Philippines organization has gained the confidence among guests to travel again,” Dailisan said.

AirAsia’s survey showed an overwhelming 91.4 percent of participants who said traveling with a fully vaccinated flight crew increased their confidence in flying.