Regulation (EU) 2025/13 on the collection and transfer of advance passenger information for the prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of terrorist offences and serious crime

What it is

PURPOSE: to present new rules on the collection and transfer of advance passenger information (API) for the prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of terrorist offences and serious crime. PROPOSED ACT: Regulation of the European Union and of the Council. ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: the European Parliament decides in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure and on an equal footing with the Council. BACKGROUND: over the last decade the EU and other parts of the world have seen an increase in serious and organised crime. According to Europol’s EU Serious and Organised Crime Threat Assessment, most organised crime involves international travel, typically aimed at smuggling persons, drugs or other illicit goods into the EU. Notably, criminals make frequent use of the EU’s main airports as well as smaller regional airports operating low-cost airlines. In this context, information on air travellers is an important tool for law enforcement authorities to counter serious crime and terrorism in the EU. The Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs adopted the report by Assita KANKO (ECR, BE) on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the collection and transfer of advance passenger information for the prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of terrorist offences and serious crime, and amending Regulation (EU) 2019/818. The committee responsible recommended that the European Parliament's position adopted at first reading under the ordinary legislative procedure should amend the proposal as follows: The amended text stated that air carriers should collect API data of passengers , consisting of the passenger data and the flight information, respectively, on the flights for the purpose of transferring that API data to the router. API data should include only the following passenger data for each passenger on the flight: (a) surname, given name(s); (b) date of birth, sex and nationality; (c) type and number of travel document and the three-letter code of the country that issued it; (d) expiry date of the validity of the travel document; (e) the Passenger Name Record number used by an air carrier to locate a passenger in its information system (PNR record locator); (f) the aircraft seat number allocated to a passenger; (g) the number and weight of checked baggage. API data should include only the following flight information : the flight identification number(s); where applicable, the border crossing point of entry into the territory of the Member State; the airport code of entry into the territory of the Member State; the initial point of embarkation; the local date and estimated time of departure and arrival. Air carriers should collect the API data, using automated means to collect the machine-readable data of the travel document of the passenger concerned. Where the use of automated means is not possible, air carriers should collect that data manually , either as part of the online check-in or as part of the check-in at the airport. The collection of API data by automated means should be strictly limited to the alphanumerical data contained in the travel…

Official title: Regulation (EU) 2025/13 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 December 2024 on the collection and transfer of advance passenger information for the prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of terrorist offences and serious crime, and amending Regulation (EU) 2019/818