Ticket? Passport? Add a Covid vaccination card to the list of mandatory travel documents

Across the United States, domestic travel is recovering, amid stabilizing or declining cases of Covid-19 and a relatively rapid vaccination campaign. This recovery is not yet showing up on international travel, where a patchwork of travel bans, quarantine rules and test requirements have prevented international flights.

US domestic carriers increased scheduled capacity by more than 50% between September and March, according to aviation analysis firm Cirium. Global capacity on all international routes, however, has increased by just over 7%.

British Airways, Ryanair and other airlines that rely on international travel hope to increase ticket sales by capitalizing on the rising optimism about vaccines. The move is not quite the type of vaccination passport that some governments and international agencies are considering creating to help unlock economies hit by a pandemic. Countries studied documents that would allow vaccinated residents to visit bars and restaurants, or to go to the office or to a sporting event.

Instead, it is a more modest effort to make it easier to store and display Covid-19 vaccination and test records for passengers who are considering taking advantage of some countries’ early welcome to vaccinated travelers. The goal is to make the transition to post-pandemic flights as easy as possible, minimizing the fear of being refused entry to the borders and limiting the time a passenger needs to spend at the airport check-in.

British Airways is also moving at a time when its domestic market, the United Kingdom, is benefiting from one of the fastest vaccine launches in the world. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson outlined plans last month that could lead to the lifting of a month-long ban on travel abroad in May. Airlines reported an increase in bookings after Johnson’s instructions. TUI AG

, Europe’s largest tour operator, reported a 500% week-on-week increase in bookings for travel to Turkey, Greece and Spain.

Cyprus and Greece, which have intermittently closed their borders to most tourists, said they would begin to receive British visitors without restrictions if they could prove that they received the two-dose vaccine. Both are reopening to UK visitors in early and mid-May, respectively. In Iceland, the government is allowing any vaccinated traveler who arrives to bypass Covid-19’s health screening protocols.

China said on Tuesday it was easing travel restrictions for vaccinated foreigners. Chinese embassies in the United States, Italy, India, the Philippines and elsewhere plan to offer “visa facilitation” to foreign applicants who can certify that they have been vaccinated. Travelers are still subject to a Covid-19 negative test and quarantine, and there is another problem: the only qualified vaccination is the one made by China. These are difficult to find in much of the West.

As part of its plan to facilitate post-pandemic travel, British Airways – the largest carrier owned by the International Consolidated Airlines Group SA

—Will allow passengers to upload evidence of inoculation and negative Covid-19 tests when making a reservation on its website. By reviewing the health documentation carried by passengers, British Airways can verify that the passenger’s documents are in order, just as airlines already do for various visa requirements for travelers.

The first flights for which data can be submitted are those from London to India. India does not require a vaccine to travel, but it does require proof of Covid-19 negative testing.

“We are preparing for a significant return to international travel in the coming months,” said British Airways Chief Executive Sean Doyle. “It means doing everything we can to simplify our customers’ journey.”

Ryanair, Europe’s largest in traffic, has developed a similar “travel wallet” tool on its website and mobile app. He said he is preparing for an increase in pent-up demand in May and June, once the most at-risk populations in Europe are vaccinated.

“Many Ryanair customers will be taking their first vacation in more than a year, adhering to the new travel guidelines,” said Ryanair’s head of marketing, Dara Brady. The travel wallet will allow passengers to store all of their Covid documents “in a place with no fuss or paperwork to worry about”.

As vaccination programs around the world accelerate, airlines are testing several other ways to make it easier for passengers to navigate different international Covid-19 health regimes. Carriers including Singapore Airlines Ltd.

, Emirates Airline and Qatar Airways have been working with the International Air Transport Association, an airline commercial agency, to test the so-called Travel Pass system. The system, which includes a mobile app, aims to allow passengers to demonstrate Covid-19’s vaccination and test records, while identifying test and vaccination requirements for different locations and local test centers accessible during their journey.

American carriers are also turning to new applications to help passengers track various travel requirements and upload test results – systems that can eventually be used for vaccine records.

Israel, ahead of most countries in its vaccination campaign, has implemented a vaccine passport that allows citizens to check their vaccinations to visit hotels and gyms, a move the UK government has said it is also exploring. Israel’s borders are still effectively closed to foreign visitors.

The European Union plans to reveal on Wednesday a “digital green pass” for EU citizens that records the results of Covid-19 tests and vaccines to allow travel within the EU for work and tourism. Governments across the Mediterranean are pushing for the measure to be implemented in time to avoid losing a second summer season to the tourism sector.

—Alison Sider, from Chicago, contributed to this article.

Write to Benjamin Katz at [email protected]