Countries are tentatively opening to international travelers as more and more people are getting vaccinated, but each has its own vaccination rules, document requirements and testing thresholds for entry. "Vaccine passsport" interests as diverse as the World Economic Forum, multinational technology companies, the EU and organizations representing the global travel industry are all stressing the importance of developing interoperable, open-source technology standards for health passes.

But how close are we to a health-pass standard, and what should travelers expect in the meantime? Senior editors Robert Silk and Jeri Clausing, and travel expert Gary Leff, who writes about frequent-flyer, points and business travel on his "View from the Wing" blog, discuss the thorny issues that surround vaccine passports and how to better enable cross-border travel.

This episode was recorded Thursday, May 13, and was edited for length and clarity.

Additional reading:

The vaccine passport controversy: https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Airline-News/Giving-travel-a-health-pass 

International travel's current situation: Forms, forms, tests and more forms https://www.travelweekly.com/Blogs/Dispatch/International-travel-current-situation-Forms-forms-tests-and-more-forms 

European Commission lays out proposal for easing travel restrictions in the EU https://www.travelweekly.com/Europe-Travel/European-Commission-lays-out-proposal-for-easing-travel-restrictions-in-the-EU 

Hawaii governor expects vaccine passport to expand to all U.S. visitors by summer https://www.travelweekly.com/Hawaii-Travel/Hawaii-governor-on-vaccine-passport-expansion 

Gary Leff's View from the Wing blog https://viewfromthewing.com/

 

Countries are tentatively opening to international travelers as more and more people are getting vaccinated, but each has its own vaccination rules, document requirements and testing thresholds for entry. "Vaccine passsport" interests as diverse as the World Economic Forum, multinational technology companies, the EU and organizations representing the global travel industry are all stressing the importance of developing interoperable, open-source technology standards for health passes. But how close are we to a health-pass standard, and what should travelers expect in the meantime? Senior editors Robert Silk and Jeri Clausing, and travel expert Gary Leff, who writes about frequent-flyer, points and business travel on his "View from the Wing" blog, discuss the thorny issues that surround vaccine passports and how to better enable cross-border travel.
This episode was recorded Thursday, May 13, and was edited for length and clarity.
Additional reading:
The vaccine passport controversy: <a href="https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Airline-News/Giving-travel-a-health-pass">https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Airline-News/Giving-travel-a-health-pass </a>
International travel's current situation: Forms, forms, tests and more forms <a href="https://www.travelweekly.com/Blogs/Dispatch/International-travel-current-situation-Forms-forms-tests-and-more-forms">https://www.travelweekly.com/Blogs/Dispatch/International-travel-current-situation-Forms-forms-tests-and-more-forms </a>
European Commission lays out proposal for easing travel restrictions in the EU <a href="https://www.travelweekly.com/Europe-Travel/European-Commission-lays-out-proposal-for-easing-travel-restrictions-in-the-EU">https://www.travelweekly.com/Europe-Travel/European-Commission-lays-out-proposal-for-easing-travel-restrictions-in-the-EU </a>
Hawaii governor expects vaccine passport to expand to all U.S. visitors by summer <a href="https://www.travelweekly.com/Hawaii-Travel/Hawaii-governor-on-vaccine-passport-expansion">https://www.travelweekly.com/Hawaii-Travel/Hawaii-governor-on-vaccine-passport-expansion </a>
Gary Leff's View from the Wing blog <a href="https://viewfromthewing.com/">https://viewfromthewing.com/</a>
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Travel Weekly's team of reporters, editors and contributors explore ideas, share experiences and provide insight into what they’ve uncovered while reporting on some of the biggest trends in travel.

Travel Weekly's team of reporters, editors and contributors explore ideas, share experiences and provide insight into what they&rsquo;ve uncovered while reporting on some of the biggest trends in travel.

Hosted by Rebecca Tobin, managing editor of Travel Weekly

The Folo by Travel Weekly

Travel Weekly's team of reporters, editors and contributors take a deep dive into the biggest travel story of the week. 

In each episode, we invite invite our team of journalists and their trusted sources to delve into major travel trends that industry insiders, or just travelers, want to know about.  

You may be wondering: Why the Folo? Well, a folo -- f o l o -- is a journalism term, a kind of shorthand that basically means to follow a breaking news story with more in depth reporting and analysis. And at the Folo podcast, that's what we do. 

Hosted by Travel Weekly managing editor Rebecca Tobin.

Travel Weekly's team of reporters, editors and contributors take a deep dive into the biggest travel story of the week.&nbsp;
In each episode, we invite invite our team of journalists and their trusted sources to delve into major travel trends that industry insiders, or just travelers, want to know about. &nbsp;
You may be wondering: Why the Folo? Well, a folo -- f o l o -- is a journalism term, a kind of shorthand that basically means to follow a breaking news story with more in depth reporting and analysis. And at the Folo podcast, that's what we do.&nbsp;
Hosted by Travel Weekly managing editor Rebecca Tobin.

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