Vaccine passport app for foreign travel will be ready in weeks – sparking hope for hols abroad this summer

VACCINE passport apps which will allow vaccinated Brits to travel are to be ready "within weeks".

The apps, which show the holder has received both of their jabs, will allow holidays to go forward restriction-free.

According to the Telegraph, vaccine passports could be ready ahead of the start date of holidays abroad, which will be announced on April 12.

The earliest holidays abroad could go ahead is May 17, with a more likely restart date of June 21.

The pass is being developed by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), and will be verified at the borders when travelling.

Vinoop Goel, IATA’s regional director of airports, said: "We are currently working with a number of airlines worldwide and learning from these pilots. And the plan is to go live in March.

"So basically we expect to have a fully functional working system over the next few weeks."

Boris Johnson has said there "may well be a role" for vaccine passports for both domestic and overseas reasons, but is yet to confirm how they will be introduced for British travellers.


Matt Hancock also added that if the vaccine continues to work well against the new variants – which includes the Kent and South African strains – then they can be "much more relaxed about international travel".

Countries such as Spain and Greece have supported vaccine passports to allow Brits to return in time for the summer.

While non-vaccinated travellers won't be banned from entering the country, they will instead face travel restrictions such as tests and quarantines.

Spain's tourism minister Maria Reyes Maroto has described vaccine passports as a “priority," alongside travel corridors adding: "The travel corridors will incorporate Covid-status certificates as an element of safe mobility.

"Tourism is a priority sector and we have worked not only on protective elements, but also on equipping ourselves with the tools to restore safe mobility.”

Majorca and Ibiza are pushing to be the first to introduce the passes – Juan Miguel Costa, Ibiza’s Director of Tourism, told island daily Periodico de Ibiza: “Vaccine passports can be part of a solution so that everyone can justify with an application on their mobiles that they have been jabbed."

The Greek Prime Minister echoed these sentiments earlier this month saying: "A vaccine certificate would allow you to enter Greece without being forced to provide a negative test and without any quarantine restrictions and we do intend to go down that path.

“For those who have not been vaccinated the most likely scenario is that we will request some sort of negative test, we want to make it as easy as possible for them to travel to Greece.“

Holidays in England are restarting much earlier, with day trips and self-catered accommodation starting from April 12.

From May 17, hotels will reopen and two households can go away together, or up to six people from more than two households.

June 21 is the date when there hopes to be no travel restrictions in the UK – although this is dependant on the Covid situation in the country.

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