Aviation technology specialist SITA has announced plans to accelerate the development and deployment traveller digital identities through a new partnership with Indicio.

A market leader in open-source verifiable data technology and trusted digital ecosystems, Indicio will work with SITA on Digital Travel Credentials (DTC) that will allow airline passengers to securely create a digital version of their physical passports.

These will meet International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards and stored in the travellers mobile wallet giving them control over their personal data.

This transition to open-source, decentralised identity technologies is expected to pave the way towards seamless and secure airport processes throughout a travellers’ journey.

Only required passenger data is shared before travel, so passengers arrive at the airport ready to fly with all document checks already completed.

SITA said the technology has been built “to ensure authenticity and integrity, and ownership can be automatically and repeatedly verified, thereby mitigating the risk of fraud”.

Jeremy Springall, senior vice president of SITA At Borders, said: “The adoption of digital identities will be the biggest technology breakthrough in the travel industry in decades.

“It will simplify the identification process at every step of the journey and open up opportunities for the air transport industry to fully embrace the benefits of seamless travel and the digital economy. SITA, together with Indicio, are proud to be leading the charge.”

Heather Dahl, chief executive of Indicio, added: “It is difficult to understate just how significant SITA’s leadership has been in the field of open-source verifiable credential technology and decentralized identity; over the past three years, we’ve collaborated to push this technology forward with a shared vision for what it can do. And we delivered.

“The horizon has now expanded, filled with a myriad of applications. With SITA’s DTC using Indicio Proven technology, we will make all these applications a reality for passengers, aircrew, airports, borders, hotels, and governments. We are excited about what this partnership can build and deliver.”

The Indicio agreement follows a successful collaboration where the technology was trialled with the Government of Aruba.

Passengers arriving at Queen Beatrix International Airport applied for their travel authorisation using a simplified process that eliminated the need to enter information from paper travel documents manually.

Using a DTC, passengers could then consent to share any of their relevant data directly from their digital wallet on their mobile device to multiple entities, from the government at the port of entry to other touchpoints such as hotels or car rental companies.