Reuters reported today that transatlantic air travel could be halted if European and U.S. Officials fail to replace a deal on sharing passenger information. The current deal is set to expire, and needs to be replaced by tomorrow. The United States will deny landing authorization to airlines that refuse to send that data.
Without a deal, the data sharing would be governed by data privacy rules and thus could produce complaints by travellers against the airlines. The Department of Homeland Security wants more passenger data from the EU. The EU wants to solve the existing problem, created on a legal technicality, and negotiate additional data access later.
The US DOH has already said it wishes to secure passenger data in advance on all flights, which the airlines resisted, as it would limit their ability to sell last minute seats as well as increase delays. It would, however, allow the flight manifests to be checked for passengers who raise security concerns.
