Back to Air Transport IT Review - Issue 3, December 2009
Future-proofing Spain's security compliance
Spanish authorities are helping 200 airlines meet new requirements for security, based on Advance Passenger Information (API)
Twenty-five million people fly into Spain's international airports every year from outside the European Union. Most come from Latin America, making Spain the gateway between the region and Europe. Security issues have long been a concern - but these were amplified following the Madrid bombings in 2004. As a result, Spain's Immigration Act established a legal obligation for transport companies to provide passenger information to the Spanish government - with compliance failure incurring a fine of up to €60,000 per offence.
However, following the 2004 events, the European Council established a legal basis for EU Member States to require Advance Passenger Information (API) data from airlines for all passengers arriving from outside the Schengen area1.
The issue was how to implement the new and evolving API requirements, so that airlines could help ensure more effective control over passenger movements and border security.
Project challenges
Three key challenges needed to be resolved from the outset:
- In order to drive rapid uptake, the system needed to be able to accept data in virtually any of the different formats or messaging protocols used by today's airlines.
- The project timeline from solution sign-up to system deployment was extremely ambitious.
- The solution needed to be rolled out in rapid succession to airlines at Spain's major airports.
From pilot to full service
Pilot implementation of SITA's APIS solution began in March 2006. Today, fully implemented, the scheme allows Spanish authorities to check tens of millions of passengers travelling on almost 200 airlines against lists of unauthorized or undesirable persons. These include lists of wanted persons, lost and stolen passports, lists of violators of immigration laws, and eVisas.
Use of iDetect also allows border control authorities to analyze patterns of passenger activity and interpret the full, harmonized data-set prior to a flight's arrival - a key component of high value intelligence gathering for border security and control.
Simpler solutions
With the number of countries requiring API now growing fast, and the provisions for data format and dispatch timelines different for just about every entity, Spain's fully managed solution removes complexity. It allows users to manage data collection and dispatch in a way that suits their current processes, protocols and infrastructure. The system then handles data reformatting, protocol conversion, message verification and timely and secure transmission, transparently and efficiently.
By choosing a fully managed solution, Spain has also benefited from a future-proofed system that evolves to keep pace with changing government requirements, while at the same time delivering the information and analytical capabilities needed to keep the country's borders safe and secure.
1. The zone of free movement of people currently consisting of 25 EU Member States, which have agreed to the removal of systematic border (immigration) controls at national frontiers within thezone. The UK and Ireland opted not to fully implement Schengen. Passenger data solutions such as API in Spain have much broader uses than immigration control, such as fighting crime (drugsmuggling, human trafficking, etc.). The jury is still out in Brussels and in Member States as to whether such solutions can be applied for intra-Schengen or intra-EU flights. The trend globally is toinclude 'domestic flights' in the scope of API and iAPI controls.
API & iAPI. What's the difference?
- Advance Passenger Information (API) was introduced on a voluntary basis in the 1980s by US Customs, in conjunction with a number of US carriers, to facilitate border processing.
- After 9/11, API became mandatory in the US, and in 2003 became an ICAO recommended practice because of its security benefits.
- Since then, many states - including Australia, Canada, India, Mexico, South Korea, Spain, the United Kingdom and the EU - have enacted legislation requiring API
- iAPI, an interactive form of API, is rapidly gaining recognition as the state-of-the-art API processing system.
- It was first implemented in Australia (by SITA) to improve security during the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000.
- iAPI effectively begins the screening process at the point of departure, allowing airlines to submit travel document data to governments for screening during check-in, and providing for real-time responses which approve or deny boarding. The US, UK and other countries are currently in the process of implementing iAPI.
Find out more in our Webinar: "Border Security - meeting the new challenges"
Find out more about implementing SITA's iDetect APIS solution in our webinar "Border Security - meeting the new challenges".
Presentations are from Ken Richardson, Lead Consultant for Port and Border Controls at Augmentiq*; and Tom Marten, Vice President for Government and Security Solutions at SITA. They consider the drivers affecting border security and discuss governmental responses to SITA's range of solutions, covering:
- The latest interactive Advance Passenger Information solutions that enable real-time checking of passenger data - before passengers board a flight.
- Passenger Name Record (PNR) solutions to identify high-risk passengers.
- Bespoke biometric applications for the air transport industry.
- And e-visa solutions that enable passengers to apply for, buy and receive electronic visas online.
* Augmentiq is dedicated exclusively to enhancing transportation security, improving border control and simplifying passenger travel. The company works with specialist partners to deliver comprehensive security transformation services, and deploy document verification, biometric and risk assessment tools.
More security, less intrusion
- Enhanced security can be achieved with less impact on passengers, rather than more.
- Detection should happen automatically and transparently to the passenger, while checking-in at a kiosk, walking down a jetway to the aircraft.
- Passengers shouldn't really need boarding passes - since the right to fly depends ultimately not on a piece of paper, but on data in airline and airport systems and on the passenger's eligibility and physical presence in the right place at the right time.
- This is likely to mean smarter technology, systems and processes; robust, reliable, machine-readable travel documents and more stealth screening, such as underfoot detection systems.
For more, see the SITA positioning paper 'The Future of Transportation Security: Passenger Screening.
Share or bookmark with:
Facebook
Twitter
Digg
Delicious
Technorati
