More North Atlantic airline trouble coming

The EU court may not like DHS & TSA getting passenger lists, but that is the way it is. If European airlines want to fly to the US, the DHS and TSA get to make the rules. Were the data needs the other way around, we would feel the same way.

We think that airlines providing the passenger manifest at take off is already too late - how many times do flights get turned back? Its too expensive to do this - the list, if provided to the US before takeoff, could save a lot of fuel and labor time. It is important this issue get resolved because the US has legitimate security concerns and has the right to protect itself.

Indeed, commercial aviation must protect itself better. Knowing who is really on board is critical. It would be better if all bookings were subject to instant verification by Interpol, but nobody has the guts to make this happen until the next tradgedy.

Bloomberg -- Europe's highest court struck down an anti-terrorism agreement that allows the European Union and the U.S. to share information on airline passengers, giving authorities four months to resolve conflicting rules.

The European Court of Justice in Luxembourg today said the 2004 accord was illegally adopted, upholding a challenge by European Parliament lawmakers. Authorities have until Sept. 30 to come up with new regulations, the court said.

Today's ruling may mean that carriers such as Air France-KLM Group, Europe's biggest airline, and Deutsche Lufthansa AG will have to choose between violating EU or U.S. law, facing fines on both sides of the Atlantic, according to Eduardo Ustaran, a lawyer specializing in information technology. The European Parliament had argued the rules violated EU protections on personal data.