The European Commission (EC) has proposed the establishment of an EU-wide digital system to document Covid-19 vaccinations, test results and recoveries from Covid-19 by travelers.
The goal of the certificate would be to speed the reopening of cross-border traffic within the EU.
The EC said in the Wednesday proposal document that the certificate should be standard in format and interoperable across borders, backed by a technological infrastructure set up at an international level that allows for secure issuance and proof that it's valid.
Personal data in the certificates should be limited to only what is absolutely necessary to confirm the individual traveler's Covid-19 health status and should not be retained by border authorities.
The commission said that the documents contained in the certificate would "facilitate" travel, but it emphasized that vaccinations should not be a requirement.
The proposal drew praise Wednesday from European aviation sector trade groups, among them Airlines for Europe, ACI Europe and IATA. The associations urged EU member states to ensure the certificates are operational in time for the peak summer travel months.
Globally, the travel industry has said that the establishment of a standardized, interoperable, secure digital passport infrastructure is essential to facilitate border reoopenings and to ease the operational burden of airlines, most of which currently must manually validate Covid-19 health related documents at the airport.
Airlines for America and U.S. Travel Association were among the organizations earlier this month that urged the White House to quickly develop federal guidance on Covid-19 health credentials for travel.