Virgin Atlantic and partner Delta Air Lines have introduced a digital health management tool, FlyReady, to streamline transatlantic flying.

The airlines say FlyReady will be the ‘digital blueprint to reopen transatlantic travel’.

It follows last week’s creation of the bilateral Atlantic Taskforce, a first step towards reopening the skies between the UK and US.

Customers travelling between the UK and the US will be the first to use FlyReady to speed up check in and boarding, enabling them to upload and verify test results within the three days before departure and proceed smoothly through pre-flight checks with airline agents on the day of travel.

FlyReady is fully integrated into customers’ online journeys through virginatlantic.com, where they can navigate to the tool from the My Booking page, with no third-party app download needed.

Virgin Atlantic Chief Customer & Operating Officer Corneel Koster said FlyReady ‘will help to strengthen customers’ confidence as they return to the skies with us, by making their transatlantic journeys as smooth and seamless as possible’.

He added: “With world-leading vaccination programmes in both the UK and US, there is a clear opportunity to safely open up travel between these two low-risk countries and allow vaccinated travellers to be free from testing and quarantine, consistent with the approach taken by the US and the EU.

“We urge the UK Government to move the US to the UK’s green list and for the Biden administration to repeal the 212F proclamation for UK travellers. There is no reason to delay.”

Virgin Atlantic FlyReady will initially be available for customers travelling in either direction between the US and the UK. Customer on these routes will be contacted with pre-departure communications over the coming fortnight, offering clear instructions on how to use the service.