Interpol Secretary General Ronald Noble said on Wednesday that two solutions may help in the fight against terrorism: First it would be helpful if Airlines would forward data on to them; Secondly countries that arrest foreign visitors should share that data with international law enforcement agencies.
The Interpol Chief is meeting with American Airlines today, to discuss this project as a pilot program and said that linking databases can help detect people flying on passports that have been reported lost or stolen. Ramzi Yousef who was convicted in the 1993 terrorist bombing of the WTC entered the United States on a stolen passport.
The pilot project would only gather passport numbers and the country which issued the passport, not the individuals names or personal information. The United States has long worried that terrorist use fraudulent travel documents to move around the world. The United States Dept. of Homeland Security (DHS) recently announced that they will be using the Interpol databases of 7 million stolen or lost passport numbers to screen foreign visitors.
Airlines already submit passenger data to DHS on U.S. bound flights through "Advance Passenger Information System" and these records are reviewed by DHS before the planes land in the United States. DHS can then flag certain passengers for more intensive screening upon their arrival into the U.S. by Immigration Officials.
Currently however there is no centralized system in place that eventually could be used to track wanted fugitives and sex offenders who may be barred from travel to certain destinations as part of their probation.
