The International Air Transport Association (IATA), a trade association for airlines, representing some 240 airlines, yesterday hosted its first Caribbean Advance Passenger Information (API) - Passenger Name Record (PNR) Day at the Hyatt Regency in Port-of-Spain.
The IATA had been hosting API-PNR Days in Africa and the Middle East to raise awareness among border control authorities and industry stakeholders about international standards and guidelines for transmission of passenger data, the main types being API and PNR.The event was for national customs, immigration and other border control authorities; civil aviation authorities and aviation security authorities; airlines facilitation representatives; and representatives from airport authorities from across the Caribbean.
According to a brief prepared for Transport Minister Stephen Cadiz, who welcomed delegates to the conference, airlines and governments in the Caribbean "have been co-operating since 2007 on the provision of passenger data for flights arriving into the Caricom common travel area" through Caricom's Joint Regional Communications Centre."