Dubai: Emirates will soon be able to verify travellers' Covid records

The Dubai Health Authority and Emirates on Thursday signed a partnership that will implement digital verification of travellers’ medical records related to Covid, including infection, testing and vaccination. This will make Dubai one of the first cities in the world to have such a system.

Under the memorandum of understanding (MoU), the IT systems of DHA-approved laboratories shall be linked with Emirates’ reservations and check-in systems, in order to enable efficient sharing, storing and verification of passenger health information related to Covid-19 infection, testing and vaccination — all in a secure and legally compliant manner. The process will start immediately, with the project expected to go ‘live’ and benefit travellers in the coming months.

The MoU was signed by Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates, and Awadh Al Ketbi, Director-General of the DHA.

“Dubai is a leading global air transport hub, as well as one of the world’s most progressive cities in the area of e-government services. It’s a natural step to combine our capabilities to implement digital verification of Covid-19 medical records, which will also enable contactless document verification at Dubai Airport. This will tremendously improve the traveller experience, as well as the reliability, efficiency and compliance with entry requirements imposed by destinations around the world,” said Sheikh Ahmed.

He added: “Dubai will continue to lead the way in implementing effective and balanced approaches to contagion control, while facilitating travel and air transport which are crucial to communities and economies.”