AviGate makes passenger data more accessible

E-borders measures implemented over the past decade or more have been based mainly on Advance Passenger Information (API) data – name, gender, date and place of birth – collected at the check-in desk from machine-readable passports. "But now the border agencies are demanding extra information such as where you are going on your first night in the country," says Ray Batt, marketing and strategic business development director for ARINC in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

Airlines are being asked to gather information via dedicated API screens on their websites and deliver it to security agencies so they can make timely decisions about handling incoming travellers. However, Batt says: "The process is often slowed by the tendency of governments to establish varying requirements for message content and format."

ARINC's response is AviGate, which is designed to turn the API data in the desired format before delivering it to the agencies via the industry-standard Type B messaging networks.

"It's intended to relieve the airlines of the need to make expensive changes to their systems," Batt explains. "And it reduces the risk that the information supplied will be incorrectly formatted. The customs, immigration, police and intelligence organisations will receive API ready for use by their systems, and the airlines will avoid being fined for non-compliance."