US authorities began demanding passenger information after the tragic events of September 11, 2001, as a measure to prevent similar terrorist attacks. The data on each passenger includes 34 items. For refusing to share client information, US authorities threatened airlines with a fine of up to $6,000 per passenger — up to revoking the right to land on US territory.
The corresponding agreement with the United States was approved two years ago by the European Commission and the EU governments. However, the European Parliament filed a lawsuit with the European Court of Justice, stating that the US does not guarantee the necessary protection of personal passenger information. The Court ruled that the agreement with the US lacks an appropriate legal basis. Now the European bureaucracy is obliged to find a new solution to the problem by September 30 of this year. Meanwhile, airlines faced an unpleasant choice – to report their passengers to the Americans and thereby violate the European Court's verdict, or to keep the information to themselves and face sanctions from the US.
The Americans steadily sought to expand their knowledge about passengers on transatlantic flights. "Passenger Name Records" (PNR) included not only data on first and last name, address, phone numbers, and credit card number, but also on the travel agency and transit flights used by the passenger. Moreover, Americans were even interested in information about meals that the passenger had pre-ordered. The choice of a particular meal option can indicate a person's religious affiliation.
It was believed that the United States made significant concessions during the negotiations, reducing the information request from 39 to 34 items. In addition, it was initially assumed that the obtained information would be stored for 50 years. However, Europeans managed to persuade them to limit the period to 3.5 years. The Americans also promised that they would use the obtained data only in the fight against terrorism, and not against all kinds of lawbreakers, as they had planned before signing the agreement.