Date:05/03/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/03/05/stories/2008030560131900.htm

National

Advance passenger information from April

Vinay Kumar

NEW DELHI: Come April and international passengers landing at six Indian airports will have their personal details sent in advance for scrutiny with the immigration authorities. The notification for implementing the Advance Passenger Information System (APIS) had been published in the Gazette of India and it will come into force at the Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kochi, Delhi and Mumbai airports.

In electronic form

According to the notification, the country representative or station manager of an airline landing in India shall provide information about the passengers on board and crew in electronic form within 15 minutes of taking off from the port of embarkation outside India, to the immigration authority at the airport of landing in India.

The details of passengers will include name, gender, date of birth, nationality and passport details.

Home Ministry officials said the APIS would facilitate expeditious immigration clearance coupled with enhanced security screening of the passengers.

A pilot project of APIS with Air India was started at an airport in July 2006 and it would continue till this month-end, official sources said. Gradually the APIS would be implemented at all international airports in the country, the sources added.

India gets about four million tourists every year.