United Airlines flyers can now upload required COVID-19 testing and vaccination records to the carrier's app for verification prior to their airport arrival.
United unveiled the capability ahead of the requirement taking effect Tuesday that all travelers returning to the U.S. from abroad show either a negative COVID-19 test result from within 72 hours of departure or proof that they have recovered from a bout with the virus in the previous 90 days.
The uploading feature is one piece of the new Travel-Ready Center, which United has incorporated into its app and on United.com.
The Travel-Ready Center provides United customers who have an active reservation with tailored information on the location of nearby testing centers and on the documentation they will be required to present for travel. Once travelers upload that documentation, United employees will view the records for verification.
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After review, the app or website will then note whether the flyer is "travel ready." Travelers who are travel ready will then be allowed to complete the check-in process remotely.
The tool is similar to American's Verifly app solution, which also now allows all travelers returning to the U.S. to upload test results. United, though, is the first U.S. carrier to offer that functionality within its standard customer app.
Customers who use the Travel-Ready document function should still bring physical documents to the airport in case further inspection is need, United said.
The carrier also said that it will roll out additional functions in its Travel-Ready Center in the coming weeks and months. Notably, the airline plans to partner with more than 15,000 testing sites around the world. Those centers will then transmit testing results directly to United, alerting the carrier if a customer is travel ready.
* This article originally appeared on Travel Weekly