Advance Passenger Information (API) and Passenger Name Record (PNR) systems provide information on all travelers planning to travel to, transit or leave your country.
An API-PNR system collects biographic data from travelers starting at 72 hours prior to flight departure from the country where the journey originates, giving Governments valuable information about individual travelers, before they board their flight to your nation.
These systems are key solutions for Governments looking to combat terrorism, illegal migration, and other transnational crimes. Recognising this, the UN Security Council recommends all member states to implement an API-PNR system to support the global fight against terrorism. To date, approximately 75 countries have introduced an API-PNR system.
Key Benefits of an API-PNR system
- Connects with national and international watchlists and databases
- Prevents known threats from reaching your border
- Enhances border security and resource management at ports of entry
- Equips Immigration and Customs officers with actionable intelligence
- Communicates with the Immigration Control system and other government systems.
What is API-PNR data?
An API-PNR system is a border security system made up of two different data sets (API and PNR). By combining these two sets of data into a single window, an API-PNR system provides a full overview of every traveler planning to travel to, transit or leave the country.
The data is collected from commercial airlines and General Aviation and once analyzed, it is accessed by Border Agencies at various intervals prior to departure from the country of origin. API-PNR data is collected from the commercial airline sector, however, Travizory has developed a multi-modal API-PNR system that can also collect traveler data from land and sea operators.
PNR data is collected directly from the airline’s Reservation system starting at 72 hours prior to flight departure.. There are 43 PNR data elements which include information such as travel itinerary, travel agent information, traveler contact information and payment method to name a few.
API data is collected directly from the airline’s Departure Control System (DCS) starting at 2 hours prior to flight departure. API data becomes the manifest that informs governments who are expected to travel to the nation. There are 26 API data elements which include information such as the passport number, traveler name, luggage weight and seat number to name a few.
API and PNR data fields are fixed and controlled by ICAO, WCO, and IATA.
Why do Governments need an API-PNR system?
An API-PNR system helps Governments identify known high-risk individuals. This information allows border agencies to organize effectively, either denying boarding at port of origin or through intervention on arrival.
For Immigration officials, the information collected allows them to make Board / No-Board as well as Entry /No Entry decisions more effectively. Connecting with national and international watchlists (such as the FBI, INTERPOL and EUROPA lists) an API-PNR system sends automated alerts to border agents when a match is made.
These alerts which are the result of sophisticated profiling procedures, mean Immigration Officers are armed with actionable intelligence. Once high-risk travelers are identified, Immigration officers can take appropriate action. For example, they may be placed under surveillance in-country, detained on arrival or denied boarding at the port of origin.
For Customs officers, an API-PNR system can play a central role in the identification of illicit activity. The rich data can help to identify abnormal or illogical activity, high-risk behavior (such as last minute bookings or unusual payment methods) and examine the weight of a passenger’s baggage.
The data collected via an API-PNR system can also support the wider Law Enforcement and Intelligence ecosystem. It has been found to contribute to ongoing criminal investigations, the dismantling of criminal networks and seizure of illegal imports.
Next-generation API-PNR system
API-PNR is a robust solution for the identification of high-risk passengers, and is equipped with sophisticated AI algorithms to identify and target known-unknowns or unknown-unknowns individuals of interest. Nations can supplement an API-PNR system with an eVisa system and electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) to further elevate the nations border security and achieve a comprehensive situational awareness at the border.
Each system captures different types of information about the traveler during different stages in the journey. Together (integrated solution), the systems operate as an integral and complementary unit to create detailed knowledge about each traveler planning to travel to your nation and to effectively manage the entry (and exit) process at the border..
Evidence has shown that combining these systems into a single border security ecosystem can increase border security by 20x.
