Drastic measures in drastic times: a Europe-wide database to track all air passengers flying in and out of the EU is one of the latest counter-terrorism initiatives being pushed by European leaders. Its advocates say it’s a necessary evil to safeguard our security, but some civil liberties groups see it as another step on the road to a surveillance society.
France, Belgium and Denmark have all been rocked by terrorist attacks by homegrown extremists in 2015; now Europe is taking action.
Previously blocked in the European parliament, MEPs recently gave their provisional support to plans for countries to share airline passenger information.
Such a pan-European system would see the blanket collection of data on all travellers flying in and out of the EU. Along with flight and passport details, a passenger’s eating preferences, credit card details, mobile phone number and email would also be shared.
But are we paying too high a price for our security? That’s the issue Paul
