EU plan to transfer air passenger data

The European Commission is proposing to create a bigger exchange of air passenger data between national authorities at arrival or departure destinations within the EU. The motive for this plan is to prevent terrorism and other crimes such as drug trafficking.

This plan must first be examined by EU Parliament and EU governments before it is put in force. The Commission also assures that the information will be treated with confidentiality in accordance with European Human Rights Standards.

Passenger Name Record (PNR) data, which includes information about the travel dates, travel itinerary, airline tickets, contact details, travel agent who booked the flight, method of payment used, seat number and baggage information, will be transferred to the national authorities on request and it will be kept for 30 days after the flight. The proposal will not apply to flights within the EU or domestic flights, but rather all international flights arriving in or departing from an EU country.