Benoit Poletti, Chief Executive Officer, INCERT Public Agency of the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg and ICAO Deputy Director of Aviation Security and Facilitation Sylvain Lefoyer, on the occasion of the signing of the INCERT-ICAO Health Master List agreement.
In efforts to enable travel, ensure the validity of traveler health certificates and boost efficiency, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) announced the publication of a health certificate data base to include Covid-19 documents and is accepting submissions of relevant certification.
The new data resource dubbed the “Health Master List” is global compilation and directory of key certificates associated with any form of health proof that can be used for international travel from any of its 193 member states.
There is no cost and all public key certificates submitted will be verified by ICAO before inclusion in the list which can be found on its website, said the UN agency.
The public key allows third parties to verify that health documentation is valid.
“The Health Master List concept is based on the same principles as the generic ICAO Master List now used to verify electronic travel documents,” ” ICAO Secretary General Juan Carlos Salazar.
“It will complement existing national and/or regional solutions and provide an essential international mechanism for sharing public key certificates in line with WHO recommendations.”
The ICAO Health Master List will be regularly updated.
ICAO said it was welcoming submissions of public key certificates from its 193 member states irrespective of format or of the existing systems used for authentication of the proof.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) welcomed the news noting that it will make a significant contribution to the global recognition and verification (interoperability) of government issued health credentials.
“For international travel today, it is critical that Covid-19 health passes can be efficiently verified outside of their country of issuance. While the keys for verification are available individually, the creation of a directory will significantly cut complexity, simplify operations and improve trust in the verification process. We encourage all states to submit their public health keys to the HLM,” said IATA Director General Willie Walsh.
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Something tells me that this was never meant to end and that this is only the beginning of dark times ahead.