Article: International Travel Totally Relies on Physical Passports: Is There a Better Way?

[AFF Editor]

Canonical URL

https://www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au/physical-passports-is-there-a-better-way/

International Travel Totally Relies on Physical Passports: Is There a Better Way? is an article written by the AFF editorial team:

International Travel Totally Relies on Physical Passports: Is There a Better Way?

It's 2026. We can send astronauts into space. And yet, international travel still relies completely on a single, physical paper booklet - causing big problems for travellers whose passports are lost are stolen. Surely there's a better digital solution.

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

You can leave a comment or discuss this topic below.

 

[moa999]

Personally I'd prefer a passport that is lower risk of getting wet or creased, particularly in countries like China where you might have to scan the passport multiple times a day.

Indeed ICAO passport standards (ICAO 9303) include the functionality for a credit card sized card (TM1) format but few countries have issued these.

As I understand US has (but only for travel to Canada) and also Ireland (for European travel) and they are typically issued in conjunction with a paper version.

 

[Warragul]

IATA has this on their wish, which doesn't eliminate physical travel documents, just let's you keep them in your pocket.

To my knowledge government's aren't falling over themselves to progress this, not because it's a bad idea but trust in technology, privacy concerns, dubious assumptions by IATA about regulatory systems and whether it would work. Another consideration on the government side is translating this to sea and land borders. Which IATA don't care about. Having process aligned where possible across travel modes - air and sea mainly, road and train will always be largely different is a big thing for agencies. API for cruise ships/ ferries etc is a bit hit and miss ( globally) where the air process was attempted to be replicated. Trying to carbon copy what works in the air domain hasn't quite worked in maritime without a lot of rework - ICT and prcoess wise for industry and government

https://www.iata.org/en/programs/passenger/one-id/#:~:text=IATA's%20One%20ID%20initiative%20aims,based%20on%20biometric%2Denabled%20identification.

 

[markis10]

Let’s hope they stay away from implants, DIY Opal implants turned out to be foolhardy after one poor soul had his deactivated by authorities.

 

[Scarlett]

If I can legitimately purchase two F seats on the other side of the world and a flow of electrons can confirm my hefty payment, both to the supplier and to my bank, then the world can manage digital passport info exchange!

I mean we already exchange API data that includes all the passport details anyway, so a formal passport authentication can’t be much more difficult to add.

As for the idea of a big central database, geopolitics pretty much rules that out.

 

[Quickstatus]

Recent Passports already have a chip.

I think without implanting a passport chip, the best option is to make smartphones able to hold the data in something secure like an Apple Wallet. Then at passport control, it is just a matter of using the NFC technology by tapping the phone.

It may also be possible for digital passports to hold digital stamps!.

Other related data may also held and integrated - such as ETA/ESTA/formal visas.

Though if the phone is stolen/broken/lost, the traveller is still stuck.

 

[flyingfan]

Our saying is "Don't forget the passports, anything else we can buy." While I'd love a better way, given my skepticism of federation here (differences across states, territories and the Commonwealth) I'm not optimistic of international coordination.

 

[Cruiser Elite]

Digital Passport is a brilliant idea in theory - good luck getting it into ongoing operation as it would be a minefield I would have thought - but who knows what the future holds