Since 5 March 2003, an agreement between the European Commission and United States Customs gives the USA online access to passenger name record (PNR) data of all Europe-based airline carriers for flights that go to, from or through the USA. European privacy protection groups are deeply concerned as airline companies disclose Passenger Name Record data to United States authorities without obtaining passengers’ explicit consent. They have launched a campaign encouraging passengers to send complaint letters to airlines and national data protection authorities to claim back privacy rights (http://www.edri.org/)
