German airline Hahn Air has announced it is the first airline to issue tickets on a blockchain.

In a press release published on Monday, Hahn Air said the ticket sales utilising blockchain were made possible via the company’s collaboration with Winding Tree – a decentralised platform for the travel sector.

According to a Coin Telegraph report, Frederick Nowotny, head of sales engineering at Hahn Air, Maksim Izmaylov, the founder of Winding Tree, and Davide Montali, CIO at Winding Tree were the first passengers to use tickets booked via blockchain. 

Frederick Nowotny stated: “We at Hahn Air are constantly exploring new technologies and we are proud to now demonstrate our technical capability to issue blockchain-powered Hahn Air tickets. We are pleased to be partnering with Winding Tree, the most established company when it comes to distributing travel inventory in the blockchain. Our goal is to investigate and monitor the opportunities this technology holds for travel distribution, even if widespread acceptance is still a vision of the future.”  

Maksim Izmaylov added: “While blockchain technology is currently almost exclusively associated with the cryptocurrency Bitcoin it bears great potential for all industries and endless applications. It will have an enormous impact on all areas of economy and commerce over the next decades. We at Winding Tree believe that blockchain will have the power, like NDC, to fundamentally change the face of travel distribution. With a broad knowledge, an innovative mindset and an unparalleled network, Hahn Air is the ideal partner for us.”   

Blockchain and cryptocurrencies have been gradually introduced into the travel industry. Earlier this month, UK-based Alternative Airlines joined forces with crypto service Utrust to facilitate cryptocurrency payments including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dash, Digibyte and Utrust’s token, UTK. 

Furthermore, last month, the blockchain startup Zamna generated $5 million to automate security checks utilising blockchain and biometrics technology. Zamna stated that its clients include International Airlines Group, Emirates Airlines and United Arab Emirates’ General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs. 

In addition, in 2018, the government of the Australian province of Queensland issued a grant to cryptocurrency startup TravelbyBit within its innovation funding of more than $8.3million. 

The company plans to increase tourist numbers to the province by permitting travellers to book flights and services using crypto.