CBP Proposes to Require Passenger Data Prior to Flight Departure

 

 

On July 12, ACI-NA participated on a conference call conducted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to require carriers to transmit Advanced Passenger Information System (APIS) data on passengers prior to the departure of the aircraft from a foreign point bound for the United States and prior to the departure of the aircraft from the United States. Comments on the NPRM are due Aug. 14.

CBP, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) view the NPRM, if adopted, as increasing security by keeping high-risk passengers off of the aircraft; facilitating travel and customer service by reducing the number of flights which are diverted or turned back and comporting with the requirements of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004.

CBP proposes to give the carriers a choice of transmitting a complete manifest of passengers not later than 60 minutes prior to the aircraft pushing back from the gate (APIS 60) or transmitting the manifest information as each passenger checks in for the flight, but not later than 15 minutes prior to the aircraft pushing back from the gate (APIS Quick Query). CBP would then indicate whether the passenger can be issued a boarding pass, whether the passenger needs to be further examined or whether the passenger cannot board the aircraft.

The NPRM does not change the APIS data elements or the format of the data elements that carriers are required to submit. The APIS data elements include the biographical information in the Machine Readable Zone of a passport or other travel document plus some additional information such as country of residence and for non-U.S. citizens, the address of the first stop in the United States.

The NPRM would mean that CBP, not the carriers, would be running the passenger names against the No-Fly List and the Selectee List. CBP is working with TSA to achieve consistency between the pre-departure APIS (international program) and Secure Flight (domestic program). CBP and TSA are looking at having one redress system for passengers who believe they should not be on the No-Fly or Selectee Lists for domestic and international flights.

For more information regarding this NPRM, view: