Fergie's Tech Blog

Airlines Give Passenger Personal Details of Aussies to The U.S.

Dan Box writes on The Australian:

Every Australian flying to the US has their personal details provided to the US Government under a secretive deal with private airlines.

The details passed on may include names, addresses and telephone numbers, as well as email addresses and even dietary requirements that can be used as evidence of a person's religion.

A spokeswoman for the Customs Service said the provision of the information was a mandatory requirement imposed by the US Department of Homeland Security.

A spokeswoman for Qantas said the company had provided the US with such information since June 2004. Qantas's conditions of carriage state the airline does compile personal information, including health details, and may disclose this to foreign governments for security purposes.

posted by Fergie @ 1/03/2007 11:30:00 AM