New deal broadens scope on sharing EU air passenger data with US

THE EU has agreed to hand over airline passenger data to an unlimited number of US agencies in a new deal thrashed out during a nine-hour conference.

The passenger name records (PNR) agreement, reached two years ago as part of the fight against terrorism, was struck down by the European Court of Justice this summer over legal process rather than content.

The US made new demands from the Europeans which included that the data would be handed over before flights left for the US and that they would not have to name the agencies to which the information was going.