Thread by @fraser_again

1/ 2 members of our team ( one was me) almost missed flights recently and a 3rd actually did. More airlines & airports need to adopt @IATA TravelPass which implements #SSI for aviation.

My (definitely not unique) frustrating story working back from departure (the worst bit) 👇

2/ To return to the UK I needed:
- Passport
- Passenger locator form
- Vaccine certificate
- Antigen or PCR test
Because airlines are fined for allowing people to travel who shouldn’t be, the front desk was checking the details against each other, e.g. passport numbers.

3/ Note, they weren’t checking that the documents were legitimate, just that the name and passport details matched. As if fraudsters are that useless...

4/ All these documents were either paper copies or PDFs on a phone apart from my passport.

All but the passport could easily have been counterfeit, like Frank Abagnale's wallet in catch me if you can:

5/ The upshot of checking simple details over veracity of the documents? A flight delayed by an hour because they couldn’t check everyone in quick enough and complete carnage in the queue as families panicked about missing flights and being stuck without accommodation.

6/ Again, not once was the veracity of the various documents checked, making the checks that were performed entirely pointless. Anyone can create a convincing PDF with the right details on and from online reviews, the authorities frequently get the details incorrect anyway…

7/ Sadly, the farce started even earlier, highlight being having to leave the test centre for a photocopy of the test receipt before returning to get the actual test as:

a) the test centre didn’t have a photocopier
b) it was an easy racket to fleece travellers

8/ Surely it must be cheaper to implement a clean solution than suffer cascading delays due to irrelevant checks.

Props to all the airlines who have adopted / are adopting @IATA travelpass already!

9/ My boss from my time at @Accenture, @leong_identity makes similar points (and more) in her blog here:

10/ also, massive props to @evernym for their work in supporting @IATA to roll out TravelPass!