Sat, Feb 22, 2003
But They Don't Much Like The Idea
by ANN Correspondent Matthew French in Helsinki, Finland
In the wake of the 9/11/01 terror attacks, Finnair
is one of the foreign airlines getting ready to deliver detailed
information on its transatlantic passengers to the United States.
The USA has already issued this requirement to all the largest
transatlantic carriers, both foreign and domestic. But in a
statement issued Friday, Finnair said the requirement concerns all
carriers flying to the United States.
The dispute between the European Union and the United States
over the passengers' privacy protection was settled on Wednesday.
The EU granted the airlines immediate permission to start rendering
extensive seat reservation information to U.S. officials, even
though the legislation enabling this procedure is not yet in
effect. The actual passage of these laws could still take several
months.
In announcing its compliance, Finnair expressed its discontent
with the implicit breach of passengers' protection of privacy.
However, Finnair executives said the EU decision was a relief,
because it guarantees immunity from any sanctions or civil suits
against an airline that hands over the required information.
Finnair's system for forwarding passenger information to the United
States is already half-complete. The annual cost of running this
system is estimated at roughly $2 million. Finnair also complained
that collecting more precise information from passengers flying to
the United States is expected to slow down the check-in process.
According to the British Airways calculations, the new requirements
may extend time it takes to process a plane load of passengers by
up to two hours.
The information requested by US officials includes passengers'
credit card details, seat number, dietary requirements, possible
illnesses, and a forwarding address in the United States.
Passengers' previous travel history is also subject to inquiry.
Handing over such confidential information between the passenger
and the carrier to a third party is in conflict with the present
European data security regulations, Finnair said. The United States
has promised that this information is only to be used for security
purposes and it is protected by the American privacy protection
laws. Finnair has already rehearsed delivering its passengers'
passport information before take-off to U.S. officials for almost a
year now.
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