Norwegian Dispute over Passenger Information

The Norwegian police are to an increasing degree controlling the airline companies’ passenger lists. Especially passengers coming from other Schengen countries are controlled, because they are (through the Schengen agreement) exempted from regular passport checks. Estimates show that between 250 and 450 passengers travelling with Norwegian companies are checked every day. The police check the passengers up against their own registries, as well as the Schengen Information System

The airline company Norwegian has lately refused to give out this sort of information unless the police come up with a formal enquiry with a legal justification for why they need this information. Even though the police have the right to this information through the Immigration Act, Norwegian claims that informal requests are not sufficient.

The other Norwegian airline company, SAS, has on the other hand no hesitations against giving the police access to the lists, even upon informal requests.

Source:

Aftenposten (Norway)

http://www.aftenposten.no/nyheter/iriks/article2446872.ece