International SOS: First Ever Charter Flight With 100% of Passengers Using a Digital Health Pass
August 18 2021 - 11:26AM
Business Wire
Oyu Tolgoi-Rio Tinto and Mongolian Airlines
Partner with AOKpass, International SOS, and SOS Medica Mongolia to
provide safe Return to Work and Travel
On 28 July 2021, Mongolian Airlines (MIAT) operated the first
ever charter flight (OM7602) on which all passengers and air crew
members used a digital health pass to verify their COVID-19
negative status. The flight, chartered by Rio Tinto, carried
employees destined for Oyu Tolgoi site, one of the largest known
copper and gold deposits in the world. AOKpass, integrated into
International SOS’ safe return to work solution, Work Pass, was
used to authenticate the employees’ COVID-19 negative PCR results
on departure from Johannesburg Airport (JNB), in South Africa, and
arrival at Ulaanbaatar Airport (ULN), in Mongolia.
Altannaran Gankhuu, Head of Foreign Relations & Cooperation
Department
MIAT Mongolian Airlines commented, “We are delighted to work
with our partners to provide safe passage for the Oyu Tolgoi
employees in this groundbreaking flight.”
Phil Abraham, GM HSE, Oyu Tolgoi LLC - Rio Tinto said, “Oyu
Tolgoi is one of the most modern, safe and sustainable operations
in the world and it is critically important to us to ensure our
employees are kept safe and well. Working in partnership with
Mongolian Airlines, AOKPass and International SOS will protect our
employees as well as providing a smooth journey.”
All the employees took a PCR test 24 hours before the flight,
which followed a previous test nine days prior to the flight. They
also underwent an International SOS ‘Fit for Travel Assessment’,
via survey forms through the Work Pass app. The International SOS
Work Pass full integration with AOKpass provided the employees with
a unique AOKpass QR code linking to their digital health
certificate. This was presented at the arrival gate, where
inspection personnel scanned the QR code to verify that the
passenger has the valid required certificates for the flight and
entry to country, including COVID-19 negative status.
Darren Toh, CEO at AOKPass, “This is a great step in the
evolution of getting back to travel and back to work safely in a
sustainable way. It is another milestone in the operational
advancement of AOKpass. Being able to provide organisations and
their employees with an easy and secure end-to-end process is going
to be a key element in getting the global workforce and economy
back to business,”
Michael Gardner, CEO Medical Services, International SOS added,
“The integration of Work Pass* and AOKpass provides organisations
and their employees with a safe and secure way to demonstrate
adherence to health requirements of a work or travel environment
via a single app. This is an exciting first of its kind pilot and
we hope that many more organisations consider this to protect their
employees and, ultimately, their business continuity.”
*
https://appadvice.com/app/international-sos-work-pass/1561747846
ENDS
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210818005587/en/
For further information contact: Suzanne Withers, Group
Head of PR, International SOS T: 07850 746585 E:
Suzanne.withers@internationalsos.com