European Parliament approves law to access airline passenger data in attempt to combat terrorism

The European Parliament has approved the law that would require airlines to share data of passengers flying in and out of Europe in an effort to combat terrorism and organized crime.

The law launches the US-style Passenger Name Record (PNR) system, which will allow officials to detect suspicious behavior or travel patterns of passengers, instead of just profiling them based on ethnic or religious backgrounds, Economic Times reported.

Once travelers make flight reservations the PNR collects information on the airlines and travel agents employed. The system also gather data pertaining to travel itineraries, ticket types, baggage information, payment method and the passengers' contact details.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the law, which was approved by a 461 to 179 vote in the European Parliament, will be enforced later this month. European Union member states will be given two years to set up the system. The United Kingdom, however, already has an efficiently PNR system in place and is ready to implement the law immediately.

The law applies to flights to and from the EU. However, member states will have the option to apply them to flights within the EU bloc as well. They could also opt to share data with each other.

"By collecting, sharing and analysing PNR information our intelligence agencies can detect patterns of suspicious behaviour to be followed up," British MP Timothy Kirkhope told The Guardian. "PNR is not a silver bullet, but countries that have national PNR systems have shown time and again that it is highly effective."

Following the Brussels attack, EU governments were pressured to effectuate the PNR system as soon as possible.

Security services contend that the PNR system is an effective way of combating terrorists and organized criminals. One incident cited by security services is the discovery of a human trafficker through his PNR data. It was indicated that he made frequent round trip travels to the same direction. While he traveled alone for his outward flight, he was always accompanied by a young woman on his return flight.

Tags

European Parliament, European Union, Brussels Attack, Terrorism, Passenger Name Record, airline passenger data

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