Study on Advance Passenger Information (API). Evaluation of Council Directive 2004/82/EC on the obligation of carriers to communicate passenger data

Summary:

Directive 2004/82/EC was adopted in 2004 setting out a common framework for the collection and transmission of Advance Passenger Information (API) at EU level. 28 EU Member States and four Schengen-associated countries are bound by its provisions. API is commonly understood as the information of an air passenger taken either from the Machine-Readable Zone (MRZ) of their travel documents at check-in or at the time of online check-in. API information includes biographic data of the passenger as well as some information related to their flight.

In light of the recent developments in border management and border security since 2012, a key objective of the evaluation is to provide an understanding of whether its provisions are still ‘fit-for-purpose’ 15 years after the adoption of the Directive. The evaluation of the API Directive aims to assess the legal transposition, practical implementation as well as the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, coherence and EU added value of the Directive. In particular, the evaluation assesses whether and how it still addresses the needs of border control authorities, law enforcement authorities, airline carriers, passengers and other relevant stakeholders, considering the implementation of the PNR Directive and the expansion of the EU’s large-scale databases and their increased interoperability.

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