British Airways will look up passenger data on the internet

British Airways plans to look up passenger information on the Internet before boarding. As a result, the company claims to be able to offer more ‘personal service’. Privacy organizations have objected.

By searching the internet, the airline wants to look up images of passengers, among other things. As a result, they can be greeted personally by the cabin crew immediately upon boarding. Passengers who have experienced problems with previous flights with British Airways could also be addressed directly, although this was not explained further.

British Airways has equipped many of its cabin crew with an iPad for the service. This makes it possible to send collected information about passengers directly to the staff, so that they can have it before the flight. British Airways plans to personally greet 4,500 passengers on boarding before the end of the year.

Although the British airline itself says of the ‘Know Me’ program that it wants to give its services a personal touch, privacy advocates have objected to searching for passenger information on the Internet. According to the British Big Brother Watch, British Airways must have permission to look up such information on the internet. However, the airline would not request explicit permission to do so.