New security measures 'to hit airlines hard'

A number of European airlines could face significant extra costs in meeting new measures which require carriers to collect more passenger information.

It is believed that the requirement for airlines to process advance passenger information (API), including details such as passport number, name, date of birth and nationality could increase IT costs greatly.

Due to come into effect among all EU countries in the Schengen area, which does not include the UK, within 12 months, implementing API will require airlines to have upgraded check-in desks as well as additional capacity to store files.

IT director for low-cost airline Ryanair, Eric Neville, said there was a "question mark" about how the new technology would work in airports, Computing magazine reports.

"If all countries have different systems and requirements, then it will be a nightmare for airlines," he added.

Henry Harteveldt, analyst at Forrester Research, speculated that passengers would potentially be better off flying with airlines that have already established and tested the technology.

Posted by Graham Greenaway on the 22/06/2007 13:09:53
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