Ireland backs EU bid to collect data on all air travellers

THE EU would collect information on all airline passengers and pass this on to customs and law enforcement agencies, under a proposal supported by Ireland.

The details, which would include flights within the union, would be used to help catch criminals.

The United States currently collects this kind of data on people flying into the US. The EU supports setting up a similar system to collect 19 pieces of information on passengers flying into and out of Europe.

Now, however, a majority of EU countries, including Ireland and Britain, favour applying it to all airline passengers flying from one member country to another as well as to those coming into the EU from abroad.

Britain says it just wants to target flights it believes are high risk and which could have terror suspects or those involved in cross-border crime such as drug and people trafficking on board.

However, France and several other countries believe the collection of the data should be mandatory on all flights, arguing that about 70% of flights within the EU are between member states.

Germany, Austria, Malta, Slovenia, Latvia and Luxembourg argue that it is contrary to data protection laws and the principle of free movement.

They argue that it should be tried out only on flights entering and exiting the EU for at least four years before considering extending it.

Justice Minister Alan Shatter said he was very much in favour of having airlines pass on the data on all flights, including those between member states.

The information would be made available to gardaí, who could use it to track down terrorists who may be using the country as a gateway to Britain, or those involved in human trafficking or drugs smuggling.

“It could be crucial in preventing an event occurring,” he said.

The data — which would include name, address, credit card details and where the flight was to and from — would be held for a proportionate amount of time, which has yet to be decided.

“The general public will welcome that we would provide the same level of security that the US seeks to provide on its flights,” Mr Shatter said.

Spain began collecting such information following the Madrid bombings, while Britain introduced the Passenger Name Records (PNR) system some time ago.

Britain, in arguing for the system to be extended to every member state, argues that it ensured the arrest of David Headley, who was convicted for the Mumbai attacks in 2008 after British authorities tracked him on a flight from Germany to Britain.

The proposals for flights into and out of the EU would see airlines and travel agents provide 19 pieces of information 24 to 48 hours before flights, and again immediately after boarding.

Police would be able to carry out a risk assessment of the passengers and share alerts with law enforcement agents in other member states. The data would be kept for five years.

Whether exactly the same provisions would apply to flights between EU countries is yet to be decided.

Justice Ministers agreed to proceed on the basis that PNR would apply to intra-EU flights and need a qualified majority among member states to agree — which it is close to having.

However, the European Parliament also needs to agree and so far it has not been very supportive.

Meanwhile, the European Commission said it wants to step up the enforcement of air passenger rights, to make it easier to get decisions and to clarify rights of disabled travellers.

It also wants to review the regulation on air passenger rights to get loopholes plugged and to clarify areas like liability thresholds.