The UK is to sign up to a new European Union strategy to combat terrorism that will mean the details of millions of British air passengers will be stored for intelligence purposes for up to five years.
At the moment, records are only kept of the passport details of a passenger such as name, age, date of birth and place of birth.
But the EU wants to create a database that will keep tabs on everything about an air passenger, including what they ate for lunch on the plane and where they sat.
The database will also store information on how the air ticket was paid for, credit card details, whether the passenger took an onward flight and who they were travelling with.
Once the policy has been approved, immigration and police in EU countries can have access to this information. It can also be handed on to non-EU countries to help fight terrorist activity.
Damian Green
The news to opt into the directive was announced on Tuesday in parliament by immigration minister Damian Green, with Tory chairman of the Commons European Scrutiny Committee Bill Cash warning that the UK would be keeping a close eye on the policy as it develops in Brussels as it was still in its early stages.
Opposition to the policy comes from those who believe the decision to hand over the personal details of millions of Brits has been too hasty and that there has not been enough debate on who should have access to the information.
The EU currently plans for the policy to apply to flights coming in and out of Europe but the UK has asked for an amendment to make flights within Europe part of the strategy too.
Green told parliament: “Opting in to this directive is good for our safety, good for our security and good for our citizens.”
by Dinah Hatch
