IATA has welcomed the creation by ICAO of a global directory of public keys required for authentication of health credentials.
The International Civil Aviation Organization’s directory – the Health Master List (HML) – will make a significant contribution to the global recognition and verification (interoperability) of government-issued health credentials.
A public key enables third parties to verify that a QR code displayed on a health credential is authentic and valid. The HLM is a compilation of public key certificates signed by ICAO and regularly updated as more health proofs are issued and new public keys are required. Its implementation is expected to ease the global recognition of health credentials outside the jurisdiction in which they were issued.
“For international travel today, it is critical that COVID-19 health passes can be efficiently verified outside of their country of issuance. While the keys for verification are available individually, the creation of a directory will significantly cut complexity, simplify operations and improve trust in the verification process. We encourage all states to submit their public health keys to the HLM,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s director general.
The sharing of public keys used to perform this verification does not involve any exchange of or access to personal information. The HML is available on the ICAO website, where all states can upload their public keys and download those of other governments.
Through a pilot project associated with the HML, private sector providers of solutions for governments to verify health credentials will also be able access these keys. This will help facilitate the broadest coverage of health certificates in their offerings as international travel continues to ramp-up. IATA will participate in this pilot programme to support the deployment of the IATA Travel Pass.
