Leading airline and business groups are asking the Biden administration to develop temporary credentials that would let travellers show they have been tested and vaccinated for Covid-19, a step that the airline industry believes will help revive travel.
Various groups and countries are working on developing so-called vaccine passports aimed at allowing more travel. But airlines fear that a smattering of regional credentials will cause confusion and none will be widely accepted.
"It is crucial to establish uniform guidance" and "the US must be a leader in this development," more than two dozen groups said in a letter Monday to White House coronavirus-response coordinator Jeff Zients. However, the groups said that vaccination should not be a requirement for domestic or international travel.
The groups include the main US and international airline trade organizations, airline labour unions and the US Chamber of Commerce. The White House did not immediately comment.
The World Health Organization and the United Nations' aviation arm are working on the type of information to include in a credential. The airline industry groups are particularly interested in having the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention take a leading role, believing that would increase certainty that information in the credentials is legitimate.