We recently spoke with Marco Labricciosa Gallese, co-founder of A-ICE and a member of Air Tech Italy, to discuss A-ICE’s approach to Passenger Data Compliance and Border Security—a crucial innovation to ensure passenger safety.
Marco, what exactly do we mean when we talk about Passenger Data Compliance and Border Security?
Marco: “When we talk about passenger data compliance, we refer to the adherence to international and national laws and standards. These regulations require airlines to collect and share passenger information (API) and travel itineraries (PNRgov) with the relevant authorities while strictly respecting passenger privacy and using this information solely for legitimate purposes, such as the national security and immigration control.
Border security involves measures taken by a state to monitor the entry and exit of people across its borders, with the aim of ensuring national safety, preventing illegal activities, and safeguarding public health. Access to passenger data enables authorities to conduct preventive analyses, identify potential threats before travelers arrive, and improve the effectiveness of border checks.”
This is an interesting behind-the-scenes process. What role does A-ICE play in this?
Marco: “We have developed a powerful IT tool that helps government authorities comply with international regulations while ensuring data privacy. Whenever you travel, the destination country must approve you as a visitor. Border security must verify who is traveling and ensure that the individual does not pose a security threat. Our platform, successfully implemented for the Italian government and other countries, receives Advance Passenger Information (API) and Passenger Name Record Government (PNRGOV) data from airlines, processes it, and transmits the derived information to the national authority responsible for immigration control and crime prevention.”
It sounds like a complex task, especially considering the volume of data involved.
Marco: “Yes, for example, based on public data for air traffic, just for Italy alone, we’re talking about at least 100 million passengers whose data needs to be processed, screened, and analyzed. Time is critical, as is the accuracy and usability of the data, since this information is always compared with multiple databases.”
Given the importance of security today, I imagine that many governments are considering similar implementations.
Marco: “Absolutely, there is a huge potential here, especially considering that we don’t limit our role to just system implementation. We also ensure the certification of data transmitted by airlines and constantly monitor its quality through our expert team. Additionally, we are organized to assist clients in defining the legal framework, guiding them through compliance, and supporting the entire setup—from system definition to integration and interoperability with all necessary interfaces. We have also joined the eu-LISA working group for carriers, as we aim to take on an even more prominent role in supporting national authorities with passenger data compliance and border security.”
Many thanks Marco. That is very enlightening.
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