SITA, working with Indicio and the Aruba Tourism Authority, announced the implementation of seamless travel to Aruba through the use of verifiable digital credential technology. This innovation will soon allow travellers to Aruba to fulfill government immigration requirements before boarding their flight with their ‘ready-to-fly’ status being confirmed invisibly in the background.

Passengers arriving at Queen Beatrix International Airport can apply for their travel authorization using a simplified process that eliminates the need to manually enter information from paper travel documents. Using a Digital Travel Credential (DTC), passengers can consent to share any of their relevant data directly from their digital wallet on their mobile device to multiple entities across journeys, from the government at the port of entry to other touchpoints such as hotels or car rental.

The DTC, which follows the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) standards, facilitates a direct, trusted relationship between the passenger and the government of the country they are planning to visit when it comes to verifying identity. The technology enables a passenger to securely create a digital credential from their physical passport and for this credential to be held in their mobile wallet. This technology is built to ensure authenticity and integrity, and ownership can be automatically and repeatedly verified, thereby mitigating the risk of fraud.

A critical feature of the technology is that it puts passengers first, following privacy-by-design principles that give passengers complete control of their data and permitting them to consent to sharing data when needed. This will reassure passengers that no one has access to their data beyond the appropriate legal authorities.

The SITA DTC and its partnership with Indicio and the government of Aruba builds on extensive trials of verifiable digital credential technology in Aruba from 2021 onward to manage traveler health data from COVID testing and vaccination. The DTC follows open standards for decentralized identity technology and is built on Hyperledger Foundation open-source code for maximal interoperability.

Dangui Oduber, Aruba’s Minister of Tourism & Public Health, said: “The milestone that our island has reached with The Aruba Happy One Pass is a remarkable one within the future of seamless travel experiences. Innovation within the tourism industry has always been a focal point in our strategic vision and policy making. We are pleased that Aruba is part of this groundbreaking progress, ensuring quality and excellence for all of our visitors.”

Ronella Croes, CEO of Aruba Tourism Authority (ATA), said: “As a Caribbean destination with one of the highest return rates, Aruba continually strives to implement innovative technology in an effort to deliver an exceptional travel experience from the moment travelers leave their homes. Through the Aruba Happy One Pass program, traveling to and from Aruba has never been easier. We are thrilled to offer our guests a more streamlined process, showcasing Aruba’s innovation in the tourism industry.”

Jeremy Springall, SVP, SITA AT BORDERS, said: “The world of travel is becoming increasingly interconnected, where passengers are expected to share their identity each step of the way. Governments, airlines, and airports are increasingly seeing the benefit of a digital credential, which streamlines the identification process and still allows the passenger to better control their data using a medium they prefer: their mobile device. Working with Aruba and Indicio, we are excited to be leading the way to making digital travel a reality.”

Heather Dahl, CEO of Indicio, said: “A government-issued passport represents the highest form of identity assurance. What we’ve done is built a way to translate the trustworthiness of a passport into an equally trustworthy ICAO DTC type 1 digital credential – all without needing to store any personal data about the passenger outside the credential.”