Providing information to e-Borders
This page explains what information carriers must provide to e-Borders and when they must do this.
On this page
See Start-up phase for information about the technical requirements for sending the information.
Providing passenger information
Pre-departure travel document information (TDI) data
Carriers are obliged to transmit the TDI data they hold for each passenger during the period between the flight opening (no more than 24 hours before the scheduled time of departure) and the flight closing (the time at which no more passengers can join the flight). Flight closure may be close to, at or after (for delayed flights) the scheduled time of departure.
The data can only be required to the extent that it is known at this time, so carriers are not obliged to collect this information any earlier than they would for their own purposes. TDI for a traveller should only be sent when all data items are known.
This data must include all passengers who intend to travel on the flight. It can be provided as:
- individual messaging for each passenger. This meets our business requirements because it enables us to act to make interventions. It also makes the carrier more able to support any Authority To Carry scheme we may introduce in the future. The carrier should send passenger data within the required times and as soon as it knows the data, for example at check-in; or
- batched submission. This involves sending passenger data in one or more batches, or as a combination of batch and individual passenger messages, within the required times. The batch or combined set of batches must be sent early enough before departure that it does not compromise our ability to act on the information to meet our objectives. This will usually mean sending the information at least 30 minutes before scheduled time of departure, but this will depend on the specific route and we will agree it on a route-by-route basis with the carrier concerned. The later the information is sent, the less time we will have to act on it, if necessary. If we act at a late stage, this may have an impact on the carrier's own operations.
Departure confirmation data
Carriers are obliged to send us a single message confirming that all passengers have travelled. They must do this within 30 minutes after the service actually leaves ('push back'). They may send the message in any of the following ways:
- resending the TDI or travel document number (TDN) and issuing state as a positive confirmation of the passengers who are travelling; or
- sending the TDI or TDN and issuing state to tell us if any passengers are not travelling when the information sent pre-departure has listed those passengers as travelling; or
- sending confirmation that there are no exceptions to the list of passengers sent pre-departure.
Providing crew information
Pre-departure travel document information (TDI) data
Carriers are obliged to transmit data for all crew operating a service, to the extent that they know it, between 48 hours and 1 hour before the scheduled time of departure. They can do this using individual TDI messages, batched TDI messages or a combination of these. Carriers must send all crew changes up to the point at which no further changes are possible. They must also be sent early enough before departure that it does not compromise our ability to act on it to meet our objectives.
Departure confirmation data
Carriers are obliged to transmit a single message confirming that all crew members are travelling. They must do this no more than 30 minutes after the service actually leaves ('push back'). They must send this in any of the following ways:
- resending the TDI or travel document number (TDN) and issuing state as a positive confirmation of the crew members travelling; or
- sending the TDI or TDN and issuing state to tell us if any crew are not travelling when the information sent pre-departure has listed those crew as travelling; or
- sending confirmation that there are no exceptions to the list of crew sent pre-departure.
Arrangements for carriers that have difficulty meeting the requirements
We will ask carriers to start providing data for each route that they serve according to our country-by-country rollout plan. Where possible, this data provision should fully comply with the requirements shown above. The deadline for full compliance is December 2009.
However, we recognise that some carriers may have difficulty achieving full compliance with the requirements. Carriers already engaged have been given the option of adopting transitional arrangements in line with the strict deadlines to achieve full compliance by the deadline above. Those new carriers being invited to comply with the e-Borders requirements as of July 2009 will be expected to achieve full compliant connectivity within eight months of their first engagement with e-Borders, using interfaces that have now been fully established. We will agree any transitional arrangement with the carrier on an individual basis so that we can decide the best way to do it.
We recognise that, in the meantime, limitations on the carrier's system may mean that we do not receive all passenger details pre-departure (for example, for transit passengers and those who check-in late). We will consider on a route-by-route basis the balance between how late we receive a batch of passenger data (for a large proportion of passengers intending to travel) and how much time we need to process this information and plan any action we may need to take as a result.
We will always give particular consideration to the impact a scheme that is less than fully compliant will have on our operations. Carriers will also need to consider the impact on their own operations if we take action at a late stage before departure.
Any carriers seeking transitional arrangements will be required to:
- provide data in line with our country-by-country rollout plan, subject to any agreed transitional concessions;
- explain the reason for, and justify, any deviation in the data provision from the full data timing requirements; and
- provide a transition plan for achieving full data compliance and be able to commit to achieving it.
For the duration of the transitional arrangements, we will request the data from each carrier according to our agreement with it. This will ensure that carriers providing data under the agreed transitional arrangements will not be in breach of their legal obligations.
Confirming that we have received the information
If the carrier requests it, we will send an email to acknowledge all messages we receive. We will also send extra information about the quality of the data we received. We will put these email responses into a queue and send them to carriers in batches at intervals they choose, depending on interface control document (ICD) protocol selection.
The email address we send them to may be an individual address or an address list the carrier provides during certification.
When a flight is cancelled
Carriers are not required to send a message to tell us that a flight has been cancelled. If a flight is cancelled and passengers are transferred to a different aircraft with a different flight number, a carrier should send travel document information (TDI) data again, together with the new flight number, in accordance with the pre-departure data requirements.
Frequently Asked Questions
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The legislation states (para 7) that travel document information (TDI) data provision is only mandatory at the time when no more passengers can board the aircraft. Do we therefore not need to provide it before the scheduled time of departure (STD)?
The TDI information may be requested before the time when passengers have boarded the aircraft. In these cases, information will be requested only to the extent that it is known. Therefore, the TDI can be requested once it is known.
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For crew data, must a carrier send travel document information (TDI) for changes to crew if they happen outside of the specific timings for sending crew data?
The carrier is required to configure its system in such a way that it can send TDI for crew changes up to the time the flight closes. -
Are we expected to proceed with domestic travel information (DTI) before industry consultation has taken place?
No. The power introduced by Section 14 of the Police and Justice Act 2006 will be brought into force by secondary legislation in 2009. This is, however, subject to the outcome of a public consultation on the requirements of the secondary legislation.
The specific police requirements, which will include details of the routes affected and data required, are currently under discussion within Government. Once the proposals have been finalised they will be subject to a 12-week public consultation.