Here's what Security knows about you when you fly

[wagthedogwar]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5390074.stm
--If you fly, here's what they know about you--

Passenger profile

The Passenger Name Record (PNR) data falls into 34 overlapping fields, some of which contain very little information, for example the passenger's name, while others contain a lot, including the passenger's name (again), date of birth, sex, citizenship and so on.

The data can be broken down into the following categories

* Information about the passenger: name; address; date of birth; passport number; citizenship; sex; country of residence; US visa number (plus date and place issued); address while in the US; telephone numbers; e-mail address; frequent flyer miles flown; address on frequent flyer account; the passenger's history of not showing up for flights

* Information about the booking of the ticket: date of reservation; date of intended travel; date ticket was issued; travel agency; travel agent; billing address; how the ticket was paid for (including credit card number); the ticket number; which organisation issued the ticket; whether the passenger bought the ticket at the airport just before the flight; whether the passenger has a definite booking or is on a waiting list; pricing information; a locator number on the computer reservation system; history of changes to the booking

* Information about the flight itself: seat number; seat information (eg aisle or window); bag tag numbers; one-way or return flight; special requests, such as requests for special meals, for a wheelchair, or help for an unaccompanied minor

* Information about the passenger's itinerary: other flights ticketed separately, or data on accommodation, car rental, rail reservations or tours.

* Information about other people: the group the passenger is travelling with; the person who booked the ticket

The CBP system has been built in such a way that some "sensitive" information is filtered out.

Protected data

According to the undertakings on data protection provided by the US, this includes "personal data revealing racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade union membership, and data concerning the health or sex life of the individual".

This means that Halal or Kosher meal preferences will not show up, while requests for a vegetarian meal will.

"You can be sure that the US will construe whatever they can from the information provided. You can construe a lot from someone's name," says Hugo Brady, an expert in European security co-operation at the Centre for European Reform.

"They have compiled a number of scenarios which they believe amount to suspicious activity and the data is screened for a match. Did the passenger pay cash, did he have baggage? And so on."