Emirates and the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which aims to position Dubai as one of the first cities in the world to implement digital verification of traveller medical records related to COVID-19 testing and vaccination.

The MoU was signed by Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Emirates’ chairman and chief executive, and Awadh Al Ketbi, director general of Dubai Health Authority.

Sheikh Ahmed said: “Dubai is a leading global air transport hub, as well as one of the world’s most progressive cities in the area of e-government services. It’s a natural step to combine our capabilities to implement digital verification of COVID-19 medical records, which will also enable contactless document verification at Dubai Airport. This will tremendously improve the traveller experience, as well as the reliability, efficiency and compliance with entry requirements imposed by destinations around the world. Dubai will continue to lead the way in implementing effective and balanced approaches to contagion control, while facilitating travel and air transport which are crucial to communities and economies.”

Under the MoU, Emirates and the DHA will work to link the IT systems of DHA-approved laboratories with Emirates’ reservations and check-in systems, in order to enable the efficient sharing, storing and verification of passenger health information related to COVID-19 infection, testing and vaccination, all in a secure and legally compliant manner.

The project will commence immediately, with the aim of bringing it to ‘live’ implementation to benefit travellers in the coming months.