News in Brief

IATA Welcomes ICAO Health Master List

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) says it welcomes the creation by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) of a global directory of public keys required for authentication of health credentials.

The world body said the directory – called the Health Master List (HML) – would make a significant contribution to the global recognition and verification (interoperability) of government issued health credentials.

It noted that a public key enables third parties to verify that a QR code displayed on a health credential is authentic and valid. The HML 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 will ease the global recognition of health credentials outside of the jurisdiction in which they were issued.