Two of the Middle East’s largest airlines, Emirates and Etihad, announced on Tuesday that they would be among the first groups to test a mobile application that allows pre-travel verification of coronavirus tests and vaccinations, reported AFP.

The United Arab Emirates carriers have collaborated with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to be among “the first airlines” worldwide to trial the IATA Travel Pass, both airlines said in separate statements.

“Emirates becomes one of the first airlines in the world to trial @IATA Travel Pass, a global digital platform for COVID-19 updates and test verification,” Emirates airline tweeted.

“We’ve partnered with @IATA to launch the ATA Travel Pass, an app that will help passengers easily and securely manage their travel in line with government requirements for COVID-19 tests or vaccines,” the Etihad airways tweeted.

“They [passengers] will also be able to share the test and vaccination certificates with authorities and airlines to facilitate travel,” IATA said in a statement.

In November last year, the association warned that “the COVID-19 crisis threatens the survival of the air transport industry”, with 2020 likely to go down in history as its “worst” year ever.

It also said that to get things back on track, systematic virus testing was required and that it was working on an application to help guarantee the authenticity of tests and vaccination certificates.

The UAE launched a COVID-19 vaccination campaign in December, and health officials say it has already inoculated over 1.8 million of its approximately 10 million-strong population.

Emirates on Monday launched a vaccination programme for its staff based in the UAE.