Safe check-in: Secure landing

Detailed passenger manifests will be electronically transmitted to airports in India within 15 minutes of take-off by UAE carriers with effect from August 1 as part of stepped up security measures, airlines here have said.

This will include names, birth dates, nationality, sex, passport numbers, visa details, place of passport issue and country of permanent residence.

The airlines have hitherto communicated general flight manifests specifying the number of passengers and cargo load.

August 1 is the deadline set by the Indian government for international air carriers to comply with this security requirement.

AIRLINES GEAR UP

Emirates airline and Etihad Airways are gearing up to meet the deadline.

Indian carriers have been implementing this Advance Passenger Information System (APIS) on their flights from the Gulf region since June 1.

"Emirates is currently working closely with the government of India and Indian immigration authorities to ensure that all processes involved in the APIS are in place," a spokesperson of the airline told XPRESS.

Anne Tullis, Etihad’s Manager for Corporate Communications, said the airline was ready to implement the APIS on India-bound flights.

Etihad already uses APIS on many network stations.

The airlines will collect passenger details during check-in and bookings at reservation centres. Advanced machines at the airports scan passports quickly to garner all details.