The EU PNR transmission directive is in the news again, as EU parliament members are accused of ‘playing games’.

Earlier this year, the plans for the introduction of the EU PNR Directive continued to be hotly debated, yet the final drafts were agreed for the vote in the European Parliament. It has been announced that the plans are now subject to further delays following a mass vote against the initiative.

The announcement has created frustration amongst the lawmakers in Europe, who are eager to put an official plan in place to introduce what they are referring to as a ‘critical counter-terrorism tool’.

The controversy has arisen again around the breach of privacy of an individual’s personal information, as PNR data will be retained for airlines for five years, the first six months of which will retain personal identifying data.

This is not to say that information will be accessible by the public, but rather by a specially-created regulating body, specifically detailed to handle the sensitive information.

Passenger Name Records have been in existence for many years, originally being used to assist interlining passengers with baggage transfers. The new directive aims to use PNR information in a similar way to Advance Passenger Information, which is used to screen passengers in advance of international travel.