TRAVEL industry chiefs say they have less than 12
months to develop technology to meet new security demands from
US and European Union authorities.
ABTA, the Federation of Tour Operators, the five major
UK charter airlines and tour operators met last week to decide on a course of
action to help airlines collect and forward passenger information to the
authorities.
New regulations from the US and the EU will mean
airlines have to send details such as where a passenger is staying on the first
night of their visit, their place of birth and their home address, up to 72
hours before departure.
The group – which aims to meet regularly to keep on
top of the issue – estimates the Advanced Passenger Information System and CAPS
II requirements will be law within a couple of years.
FTO director general Andy Cooper said the issue had to
be resolved before summer 2006 brochures launch, effectively setting a 12-month
deadline.
“The requirements are for summer 2006 brochures, which
go on sale in less than 12 months. We need an IT development before that,” he
said.
Airlines not providing the information face a fine or
could see their passengers stopped from entering a country.
However, any solution will also have to meet data
protection laws and overcome technology deficiencies at minor airports.
Agents have already voiced concerns about handing over
customer details to operators in case they target customers direct (Travel
Weekly May 3).
However, Cooper warned: “We are not going to find a solution
overnight, there is quite a lot of work to do.”
The first job will be to identify what technology is
needed to comply with the regulations.
British Airways is already collecting APIS information
on the ‘manage my booking’ section of its website. Cooper said it made sense for
charter airlines to have one system for collecting the information.