IATA - Remarks of Tony Tyler at the IATA OPS Conference, Kuala Lumpur
"Speculation—of which there has been much—will not make flying any safer. "
"Whether or not there is a security dimension to this tragedy, that two passengers could board an aircraft with fake passports rings alarm bells. Airlines are neither border guards nor policemen. That is the well-established responsibility of governments. The industry goes to great effort and expense to ensure that governments who require API (or Advance Passenger Information) receive reliable data. And, along with our passengers, airlines have a right to ask these governments review their processes for vetting and using this data—for example against databases such as the Interpol stolen and lost passport database. The information is critical and it must be used effectively.
It costs the airlines millions of dollars every year to provide API to some 60 governments. I’ve often wondered whether they were using it.
So in the name of the effective use of passenger data, we call on governments
To harmonize on the ICAO standard elements and eliminate all other requirements
To eliminate the collection of passenger and cargo data on paper forms
To create a single harmonized window through which airlines can submit electronic data to governments
And to use this data to improve both the efficiency and effectiveness of border controls. "