Emirates and the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) have partnered to carry out complete digital verification of COVID-19 medical records related to testing and vaccination for travellers based in the UAE. As the DHA and Emirates begin the verification, the airline customers who have undertaken a PCR test in Dubai can choose to check in for their flights without presenting a physical test report.

In addition, Emirates customers who have taken the COVID-19 vaccine at a DHA health centre in Dubai can have their medical certificates, including PCR test results, synchronised while checking- in for their flights.

This new streamlined verification procedure is aimed at enabling faster and secure processing time for passengers flying from Dubai International Airport. It will facilitate synchronising of medical information with the entry requirements of the destination.

It is important to note that Emirates will verify relevant medical information only related to COVID-19 entry requirements at the desination of passengers. As soon as the check-in formalities are completed, passengers' information related to COVID-19 medical records will be discarded from the Emirates systems.

This development has come weeks after Emirates and the DHA signed the MoU. Notably, it is a first-of-its-kind partnership between a government health authority and an airline. This integration makes Dubai one of the world's first cities to implement full digital verification of passengers' medical records specifically related to COVID-19 testing and vaccination.

Speaking about the integration, Adel Al Redha, Chief Operating Officer for Emirates Airline, noted that the UAE government has been very supportive of the process. Al Redha affirmed that the UAE is one of the leading countries to make the best use of technology and digital applications. Stating that the initiative is in line with government's vision, he expressed pleasure in taking the paramount step in the country's aviation sector to partner with the DHA in linking the systems and processing relevant documents in a more secure and efficient manner with the aim of enhancing customers' experience.

"Our partnership with the Dubai Health Authority in managing passenger travel is unique and is a first step towards other initiatives that will be launched in the near future. This is a testament to Dubai's progressive approach in delivering innovative digital solutions across all aspects of services," Al Redha added.

Furthermore, Ahmed Al Nuaimi, CEO of Joint Corporate Support Services at the DHA, said that the Authority has been boldly foraying into paperless healthcare over recent years in order to strengthen convenience for patients and boost healthcare delivery. Al Nuaimi highlighted the efforts made by DHA to foster the use of digital healthcare since the onset of the pandemic in the country.

"The strategic foresight into investing in digital healthcare has paved the way today for such a pioneering integration. This partnership will directly help streamline and make travel easy and convenient as well as ensure validation of all necessary COVID-19 medical records," Al Nuaimi added.

Kleitham Ali Al Shamsi, Director of IT at Dubai Health Authority, underlined the DHA's strategic investment and focus on healthcare technology that has benefitted both health and travel sector. Al Shamsi affirmed that the partnership reinforces the potential of technology to conveniently, securely and effectively support airlines to receive verified COVID-19 testing and vaccination records of passengers.

"Since the pandemic outbreak, DHA has worked tirelessly to connect all the laboratories that process COVID-19 test results in Dubai into DHA's Outbreak Management system. This integration has been instrumental today to help develop such a unique integration with Emirates Airline," Al Shamsi added.

With the collaboration between Emirates and DHA, customers will get a streamlined experience as it will help in fulfilling COVID-19-related travel requirements and ensuring safe and convenient travel.

As a leading airline, Emirates has introduced the best applications and business practices to re-energise and boost international travel. The next phase of digital verification in the coming months will contribute to secured integration of health records in the IATA Travel Pass.

For customers who have undertaken their PCR testing or vaccinations outside Dubai, it is mandatory to physically present their travel documents during flight check-in. Emirate has noted that there are some destination countries that require travellers to carry physical documents during air travel. Therefore, the airline encourages customers to check all updates and the latest entry requirements for their destination countries at: www.emirates.com/help/covid-19/travel-requirements-by-destination/