Back to Regional e-Newsletter LAC H1 2009

Border management: the rise of airline-facing solutions

Sean Farrell
Government Solutions Director

The complexities of passenger entry into the US have been made far easier with the introduction of the entry system for the 35 countries in the Visa Waiver Program. These include EU states, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea and a number of smaller nations. But the programme also introduces thorny new issues of complexity and compliance for airlines flying to the US.

Visitors from Visa Waiver Program countries need to obtain travel authorization before booking their travel to the US. But this can now be done free of charge through the US Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) web-based Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA).

The US ESTA system mirrors many elements of SITA's own Electronic Travel Authorization System (ETAS), first established with the Australian government in 2000.However, it does not yet offer the capability for visitors to apply through travel agents or airlines - though the DHS and SITA are working to add this level of functionality.

More than that, airlines will need to use a special software and network interface to allow their computer systems to "talk" to the DHS AQQ (Advance Quick Query) systems to ensure that passengers have the necessary electronic travel authorization.

Community approach, less cost

For check-in, airlines must now interface with the US government's new AQQ service. Like ESTA, this solution bears striking similarities to a solution originally developed by SITA for the Australian Government to support the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.

This solution has since been deployed in a number of countries around the world and is known as APP (Advance Passenger Processing). It is increasingly recognized as offering the right response for airlines and governments alike. Indeed, the US Government solution uses SITA's specialized understanding of the networking and software required.

Unfortunately, unlike APP, the US AQQ system requires airlines to develop their own software interfaces to comply. More broadly, the air transport community faces the potential challenge of governments around the world developing unique solutions for passenger data analysis and border management, based on their own domestic requirements and priorities.

This could generate a potentially huge cost to international airlines of adapting to multiple - and potentially conflicting - national standards. However, a community-based airline-facing solution offers airlines the least-cost option. At the same time, it ensures that governments benefit from best practice and agreed international standards.

Solutions for compliance

To help the community meet this challenge, SITA has developed specific airline-facing software solutions, together with additional messaging capabilities, to enable airlines to comply with special requirements. SITA's APP/AQQ gateway service, for instance, allows airlines to use their existing APP "front ends" (often integrated with their Departure Control Systems) to comply with the US AQQ requirement.

More than half of the world's airlines are APP compliant and many have signed up for SITA's APP/AQQ service to meet the challenge. Similarly, in India, SITA worked closely with the airlines and IATA to develop a special passenger data solution to allow airlines to comply with a unique new requirement. As members of a community, airlines were able to make considerable cost savings compared to developing a myriad of new interfaces and point solutions.

Three core areas

Airlines and homeland security administrations alike want fast, efficient and secure compliance with government mandates. SITA's Government and Security specialists are delivering across the three core areas:

Government authorization - with the AQQ Service able to fulfill government requirements through a single transaction
PNR data - with Push/Pull filters providing standardized records on each passenger on each incoming flight, in full compliance with strict EU privacy protections
Baggage reconciliation - with support being given to government security baggage reconciliation requirements
Nearly eight years on from the events of September 2001, airline-facing solutions to government mandates are once again proving the uniqueness of the global air transport industry. It is ultimately interdependent and intent on resolving common issues through a community-led approach.

Same rules for private pilots

At the end of 2008, the US Customs & Border Protection Agency (CBP) announced implementation of new rules governing the arrival and departure of private aircraft in the US. The pilot of a private aircraft is now mandated to provide CBP with an electronic manifest containing specific information on each person traveling in the aircraft.

Notice of arrival and departure must also be provided through the eAPIS Web portal or other CBP-approved electronic data interchange system. The data has to be received no later than 60 minutes before departure from a foreign location to a US location, and no later than 60 minutes before departure from the US.

SITA is able to help with compliance, through the Web-based tools which are part of its existing iBorders APP service.