LANGLEY, UK - In response to demand from travelers and travel agents for information on airline health and safety measures, Travelport, a leading technology company serving the global travel industry, today announced the launch of the Travelport Airline Health & Safety Tracker. The tool, which is free of charge and available to both Travelport customers and the wider industry, highlights the safety measures being undertaken by more than 80 of the world’s largest airlines – all available at a glance. It is delivered to both online and offline travel agencies through the recently launched Travelport COVID-19 Smartpoint Plugin, Travelport’s API-based merchandising solution, Branded Fares Data File, and the company’s COVID-19 Resource Hub, which is also available to the general public.
Kyle Moore, Global Head of Customer Strategy and Marketing, Travelport, said: “In recent months, the travel industry has introduced a wide array of robust health and safety measures to enable a safe and responsible return for travel. As we sit at the heart of the industry, both aggregating, and enabling the merchandising of, travel content from all corners of the world, we are in a natural position to bring this information into a single place and deliver it to travel agents and travelers. Using our leading technology, we believe this tool will help travelers to match their travel needs with the safety measures they expect, bringing back confidence in travel and supporting a strong industry recovery.”
The Travelport Airline Health & Safety Tracker1 monitors the use of seven sought-after safety measures: mandated use of face masks, socially distanced seating, temperature checks before boarding, improved air filtration, enhanced cleaning programs, reduced onboard food and beverage services, and mandated traveler health certification or declaration. The data is presented in a simple visual format and is updated by Travelport on a weekly basis.
In the Travelport COVID-19 Smartpoint Plugin2, which can be downloaded from Travelport Marketplace, the information is available alongside details on government restrictions, lockdowns and safety measures – updated on a daily basis by global travel safety intelligence provider, Safeture. Information can be surfaced at the click of a button, based on the itinerary being booked.
As the airline safety information is also available through Travelport Branded Fares Data File, Travelport’s online travel agency, corporate booking tool, and travel meta-search customers can easily integrate Travelport Airline Health & Safety Tracker data into their own booking tools.
Additionally, all of the information is available on the Travelport COVID-19 Resource Hub, along with comprehensive information on travel restrictions across the world; airline, hotel and car policy trackers; direct links to Travelport support services, and guides to the best way to use technology during the crisis.
The Travelport Airline Health & Safety Tracker is the latest Travelport initiative to support an industry recovery. Travelport has also:
- Provided online training to more than 110,000 agents from March to June 2020 to ensure they are equipped with the knowledge and best practices needed in today’s environment.
- Contributed to the formation of various World Travel and Tourism Council protocols aimed at supporting a strong industry recovery.
- Helped airlines to use the Travelport Rich Content and Branding merchandising solution to communicate safety information to travel agents directly through the Travelport Smartpoint agency point-of-sale solution.
- Worked with hotel and car groups to utilize descriptive space on the GDS screens to communicate safety information.
