Scoot to trial digital verification of Covid-19 test results
Budget carrier Scoot is the latest airline to trial digital verification of Covid-19 test results, as the aviation industry ramps up preparations for the gradual reopening of borders.
Scoot is also trialling an online portal that lets customers departing on flights from Singapore, Indonesia and Hong Kong book pre-departure Covid-19 tests more conveniently.
Its parent carrier Singapore Airlines (SIA) had earlier started trials for both initiatives.
Scoot said yesterday the two initiatives being tested will complement each other.
It said the portal - which can be accessed through the Scoot website or mobile app - links customers to accredited partner clinics for the Covid-19 tests.
It will let them pay for the tests and get a digital certificate within 36 hours.
Covid-19 test results obtained through the portal will have QR codes that can then be verified by an app from Temasek-founded firm Affinidi.
Explaining the verification process, Scoot said: "By scanning the QR code with a secure app, check-in agents are able to quickly and reliably determine the authenticity of digital or printed Covid-19 test results bearing a verifiable QR code, issued by selected clinics.
"This will in turn shorten the time required for customers to complete the check-in process, thereby improving their travel experience."
Scoot said it has trialled the digital health verification process at check-in for six flights, including flights to Penang and Bangkok.
It will conduct further trials on the TR431 flight that will fly from Kuching to Singapore on Sunday, as well as the TR485 flight that will fly in from Ipoh on March 28.
Scoot chief executive Campbell Wilson said the trials will support the gradual reopening of borders by contributing safeguards to limit the spread of Covid-19.
Aviation analyst Shukor Yusof of Endau Analytics said the future of air travel hinges on carriers ensuring passengers are not infected while onboard, which the digital verification of health records can help address.
But he said efforts made by various airlines worldwide to develop their own verification process will lead to misunderstanding and mistrust.
Mr Shukor said: "The ideal outcome is a universally accepted practice and standard, where one app is accepted globally, like the yellow fever passport."
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