- British Airways and American Airlines were the first airlines to trial mobile digital health pass, VeriFLY by Daon
- Over 500,000 customers have successfully used the pass to make sure they have the right documentation ahead of their flights
- British Airways has extended its relationship with VeriFLY following the rollout of the technology across its network, with particular focus on the US ahead of its opening to UK and European citizens from November 8
- The airline is on track to ensure that the whole of its route network is covered by a functionality that allows customers to have their documents checked before travel by the end of the year
- British Airways is working with VeriFLY to ensure that customers connecting with other carriers, can use the platform to certify their documentation
London, UK, 2021-Oct-26 — /Travel PR News/ — British Airways has announced that following the successful trial of mobile health pass, VeriFLY by Daon, and its subsequent rollout across its network, it has signed a long-term agreement with Daon.
The airline has worked closely with Daon to make travel as frictionless and smooth as possible for its customers. Travellers can upload any Covid-19 related documentation required for their destination, including vaccination records, negative Covid-19 results and government documents, straight into the VeriFLY mobile app so that they are verified before travel. This will let customers know if they have met the appropriate Covid-19 entry requirements for their destination before leaving for the airport, avoiding any uncertainty.
As well as ensuring a customer has the correct documentation for their journey, British Airways has further developed the technology to allow customers using VeriFLY to check in online on BA.com. Boarding passes can be downloaded ahead of arriving at the airport and customers travelling with hand luggage can head straight through security without the need to visit a desk once they arrive at the airport, further increasing the capability for contactless travel.
The airline initially started trialling VeriFLY in February 2021 on selected routes and has seen over 500,000 customers successfully verified before travel. VeriFLY is now available on all flights to North, South and Central America the Caribbean, Middle East, South Africa, Cayman Islands, Egypt and European destinations including Bulgaria, France, Croatia, Ireland and Switzerland, as well as on the majority of flights into the UK.
British Airways is working closely with Daon to make the customer experience even easier. Most recently it has extended the capability to read QR codes that appear on documentation such as a vaccination certificate or the UK passenger locator form, making document submission simple.
Anthony Allcock, British Airways’ Chief Information and Digital Officer, said: “We started working with Daon at the beginning of this year with one simple objective – to make it as simple as possible for our customers to understand and conform with different country entry requirements when they fly with us. Since then, we have worked with Daon to make it even easier, allowing customers to unlock online check in and automate approvals for digital documentation such as vaccination certificates or the Government’s passenger locator form, helping reduce complexity.
“We know our customers rely on us to help them through their journey and we will continue to ensure our travel verification processes are the most advanced, reliable and easy to use as we help get the world moving again, especially as we prepare for US borders to reopen on November 8.”
Tom Grissen, Daon CEO, said: “British Airways and American Airlines were the first global airlines to truly understand what their customers would need to successfully navigate the ever-changing government travel requirements related to COVID-19. By making VeriFLY available early on, British Airways travellers have had the advantage of a seamless and confident travel experience. We are delighted to see our partnership with British Airways grow stronger. Other organisations and airlines have followed their lead.”
For multiple customers travelling on one booking reference, they can use one smart phone to upload all documentation. The airline is also working closely with other airlines on the role that VeriFLY plays in multi sector journeys.
All data uploaded to VeriFLY or through www.ba.com is not retained by either organisation and is purged post travel, unless a government requires specific information to be temporary kept for attestation or contact tracing, in which case it will be safeguarded for a limited time strictly in line with GDPR laws.
For all other countries that British Airways flies to, customers can verify their COVID-19 documents through ‘Manage My Booking’ on ba.com and once verified they will be able to check-in online. Destinations include Hong Kong, Nigeria, Ghana, Singapore, India, Maldives and Pakistan, as well as a handful of European destinations
About Daon and VeriFLY
VeriFLY is developed and managed by the identity assurance provider, Daon. Founded in 2000, Daon operates across six continents, Daon award-winning technology successfully performs 250M+ authentications each day for iconic companies around the world protecting life savings, banking accounts and other consequential transactions. The company features a design philosophy that emphasizes inclusion, privacy and ease of use, empowers Daon customers and their end users to meet precise needs and customize identity experiences according to their preferences. It was Daon pioneering methods of deploying digital identity solutions for border security agencies and high street banks that led to the creation of VeriFLY.
Many of the most iconic and innovative brands across the world, such as NatWest Group, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Standard Chartered Bank, Softbank, Experian, Australia Post, New Zealand Government RealMe program, Capitec in South Africa and Atom Bank use Daon products for mission critical areas of their business, such as customer authentication.
Daon maintains a comprehensive Information Security Management System (ISMS) and Privacy Information Management System (PIMS) which are independently audited for compliance with the AICPA SOC 2 Trust Principle for Security, plus the international standard for information security management (ISO27001:2013) and extensions for privacy management (27701:2019) and management of PII in the public cloud (27018:2019). The company is subject to rigorous security tests and privacy audits by some of the largest organizations globally on a regular basis.
Contact:
press.office@ba.com
Source: British Airways
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