A KLM airplane landed from Johannesburg, South Africa, is parked at the gate E19 at the Schiphol Airport, The Netherlands, on Nov. 27, 2021. (Sem Van Der Wal/ANP/AFP via Getty Images)
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The initiative launched by the World Economic Forum (WEF) to test the use of digital credentials in travel with the participation of Canada and the Netherlands has been finalized, says the Dutch government, which is now planning a new digital identity project with Ottawa.
This news comes after Transport Canada recently told The Epoch Times all parties involved in the Known Traveller Digital Identity (KTDI) WEF initiative were “committed to close out the project,” suggesting that some aspects could have been ongoing.
KTDI participants also include the Montreal Trudeau and Toronto Pearson airports, Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, Air Canada, Royal Dutch Airlines, and IT and services firm Accenture.
The Dutch government had said in the fall of 2022 that KTDI had been paused and would not be pursued further.
“It is correct that the KTDI project is finalized,” said Dutch government spokesperson Diantha Raadgers when asked about the current status of the project.
“The KTDI project was a first trial to see if a passenger could travel with a digital identity, but is not prolonged further after that initial stage.”
When presented with the information provided by Transport Canada, Raadgers said there was no contradiction.
“The KTDI project is not ‘complete’ since not all objectives have been met,” Raadgers said, who works for the transport and aviation directorate of the Ministry of Infrastructure. She didn’t indicate which objectives have been met and which haven’t.
“At the same time, the project will not be further pursued so therefore it is in practice closed, but it is also correct that not the whole project is ‘closed’, since, at the same time, the knowledge obtained through this project will be preserved and used in a new project, which is the European trial between Netherlands and Canada.”
When asked about this new project, Transport Canada spokesperson Hicham Ayoun said the department would like to “reiterate its engagement” related to the KTDI and that “all partners remain committed to working together to close out the project and disseminate the knowledge gained through this initiative.”
“Transport Canada has agreed with its partners to cease KTDI project activities with information on future collaborations being available later this spring,” Ayoun said.
The KTDI project was announced in 2018 and spurred by the WEF, a globalist organization of leaders in the fields of politics, industry, and activism which seeks to influence government and corporate governance.
It says implementing digital ID is an “urgent” need.
“With people, organizations and internet-enabled devices all interacting with one another virtually, we urgently require solutions that enable us to establish trust between ourselves and other people in the digital sphere, as well as carry out interactions that feel meaningful,” says the WEF digital ID guide for executives.
New Project
Transport Canada acknowledged that it will continue its collaboration with the Dutch government in the field of digital ID in travel with the biometric verification of the International Civil Aviation Organization-compliant Digital Travel Credential.
While Transport has not provided much detail about this new project, last December the government of the Netherlands published a good amount of information on its website in the Dutch language only. A translation was obtained using DeepL.
The new pilot project is said to take place at the request of the European Union’s Commission which intends to introduce legislation this year on the use of digital credentials for crossing borders.
The Dutch National Office for Identity Data (RViG) says the testing will take place on KLM Airlines flights between Montreal-Trudeau and Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam.
The pilot is scheduled to last for three months in the first half of 2023 and aims to include between 1,000 and 5,000 travellers.
How It Works
The RViG describes the process for a prospective participant, which would include using an app on a smartphone to read the chip on his physical passport.
Afterwards the participant would take a selfie which would be compared with the photo contained in the passport chip. A digital travel credential would then be generated.
The personal data would then be shipped to the airline and the national police, the Royal Marechaussee.
The traveler would then use the DTC to board a plane from Montreal-Trudeau to Schiphol.
The RViG says participants would need to provide their explicit consent and the collected data or DTC would be deleted after the trip for privacy reasons.
Participation on the Dutch side involves the RViG, the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Justice, the Royal Marechausee, KLM, Schiphol Airport, and an unspecified technology provider.