Estonian Police to start collecting air passenger records
On January 1, 2016, Estonian Police and Border Guard Board (PPA) will start collecting booking information for all flights to and from Estonia.
The tender for building the Passenger Name Record (PNR) database was won by Morpho SAS, part of French multinational aircraft engineering company Safran.
The total cost of the PNR database is put at 3.84 million euros, 90 percent of which will come from EU funds and 10 percent from Estonian state coffers.
“The main reason for collecting PNR data is to fight cross-border crime, because drug and human traffickers, smugglers and the rest all make use of the broadened opportunities for free movement,” PNR project leader Kristi Laul said. “The PNR system will have a direct effect on public safety and have a positive effect on state's internal security and its ability to counter serious crimes.”
The data will only be used to investigate terror threats and other serious crime. The database serves as a tool to find people who could pose a risk to public safety.
The data collection will begin in January 2016.
Collected data will be used by PPA, the Estonian Tax and Customs Board and the Estonian Internal Security Service.
Editor: M. Oll
