EU PNR: European flight passengers under general suspicion - The envisaged European model of analyzing flight passenger data

Abstract

After 9/11 the United States of America as well as other countries discovered the collection and evaluation of flight passenger data, so called passenger name records (PNR), as a new tool to track terrorists and other criminals. The use of the PNR was meant to help to identify potential terrorists before they reach American territory. Despite being criticized for fundamental rights violations, the EU is on the threshold of imitating the American PNR system. This contribution analyses the current state of play of the proposed EU PNR system by taking into account its scope and its compliance with basic European data protection rules. © 2011 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.