new decree was issued in 2021 by the Egyptian Minister of Egyptian Civil Aviation stipulates that airline companies in Egypt must provide Advance Passengers Information – API. In addition, all collected data and information will be protected according to the Egyptian Data Protection Law.
The decree regulates airline companies operating in Egypt to provide advance information about passengers arriving in Egypt or departing from the country. Likewise, the information for crew members is to be supplied to the competent data center at the Egyptian Ministry of Civil Aviation, the MOCA Data Center. The airline companies must designate a person to be responsible for providing the API to the said center, according to the following criteria:
For aircraft departing from airports in Egypt, the API should be provided while carrying out the travelling procedures within five minutes – at most – upon completion of the procedures.
For aircraft arriving at airports in Egypt, the API shall be provided prior to the aircraft closing its doors and by no later than the take-off time.
Passengers Name Record – PNR – of all passengers arriving or departing from Egypt is to be sent to the center within seventy-two (72) hours prior to the flight departure.
A charge of $1,99 per passenger for the activation of the API electronic system. The fee will be charged on flight tickets as of April 1st, 2022. No charges are applicable for crew members or children under the age of two years.
Any violators are subject to a sanction per the Egyptian Civil Aviation Law and its amendments. Nevertheless, airline companies that did not submit the needed information in time or submitted incorrect information are subject to a fine of EGP 20,000 or EGP 50,000 per flight, respectively.
Airline companies in Egypt must provide the API as of Tuesday, March 1st, 2022.