All UK airlines flying to Spain needed advance passenger information (API) systems up and running this week to avoid fines of up to €60,000 (£42,000) per traveller.

Spain is the first European country to introduce penalties for non-compliance with EU regulations requiring passport data to be sent to the destination airport before the flight leaves.

International carriers such as British Airways already have the necessary technology in place because of US API requirements established in 2005.

But smaller, Europe-focused carriers face a more significant challenge.

Meeting the Spanish deadline required significant technology developments, Ryanair IT director Eric Neville told Computing.

“We added an API data module to our reservation system to process the information and on the front end we had to implement a capture mechanism during the booking process,” he said.

Collecting data without causing further airport congestion is a priority, said EasyJet airport systems manager Simon Lamkin.

“Clearly we wanted to avoid collecting 150 pieces of passport information per flight at the airport because it would wreck check-in turnaround time,” he said.

EasyJet will use optical character recognition passport reader systems provided by the UK airports it flies from, which Lamkin expects to be up and running in two weeks. But until then data needs to be processed manually on Spanish routes to avoid a fine.

Like BA, some UK charter carriers have US routes and so already have API systems in place. But some do not.

XL Airways depends on check-in handling agents to capture the necessary data.
“It is difficult because passenger information is collected from third-party tour operators,” said IT director Martin Smith.

In the short term the information will be collected manually. But an electronic system would improve efficiency, cut costs and improve the customer experience, said Smith.

“Even though there is a good business case for an electronic system, it depends on what other IT priorities there are,” he said.

The EU directive mandating API is designed to address illegal immigration and terrorism. It applies to all countries outside Europe’s Shengen area, of which the UK is one.