An agreement signed by Washington and the European Union provides the US with access to 34 categories of personal information on every passenger flying from 25 European countries.
The US said it needs the personal data to better protect passengers.
The European Union overcame concerns about privacy rights to make the agreement, which will allow the US’s Department of Homeland Security to collect personal data such as names and passport numbers for millions of flyers.
US officials said the data collected will be used strictly to prevent terrorism.
Report by David Wilkening
