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Leaders across the travel industry are becoming more vocal about the development and potential impact of vaccine passports. <\/p>\n
In an interview with CNBC<\/em> this week, Sir Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Group, said that he believed that vaccination — and then proof of vaccination — would allow businesses to reopen and the travel industry to begin its post-COVID recovery. <\/p>\n "Vaccination is everything," Branson said. "Once vulnerable people, in particular, have been vaccinated, I think all kinds of businesses can start opening up again: restaurants, travel companies, cruise companies." <\/p>\n Branson then went on to speak about how the travel industry could use the vaccination, including the possibility of a vaccine passport, to recover from the COVID slump. <\/p>\n "Hopefully there will be a proof-of-vaccination piece of paper that people can use to be able to get on a plane without having to be tested or without having to quarantine," Branson said. <\/p>\n Several businesses have already talked about the possibility of vaccine passports in reopening travel around the world.<\/p>\n American Airlines announced that a health passport app will be made available to passengers on Jan. 23. With the app, travelers can upload test results and any documentation required to travel.<\/p>\n However, a seamless vaccine passport might not be reality until 2022. Companies will have to leap over hurdles like communication between countries and potential privacy issues. <\/p>\n