API/PNR in Africa: Industry Calls for Urgent Harmonisation to Avoid Regulatory Fragmentation
Meeting in early July, IATA, AFRAA and AASA are urging African governments to align their passenger data collection systems (API and PNR) with ICAO standards. Behind this technical request lies a significant economic issue: the cost and fluidity of air transport on a continent where connectivity remains fragile. A look at the mechanisms at stake and their implications for states, airlines and industry investors.
A Collective Call to Order from Industry Players
On 30 July 2026, an unusual united front formed among the African Airlines Association (AFRAA), the Airlines Association of Southern Africa (AASA) and the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Their target: the way a growing number of African states are rolling out their Advance Passenger Information (API) and Passenger Name Record (PNR) systems.
These systems, which transmit passenger data to authorities ahead of travel, have become standard border security tools worldwide. The issue raised by the three organisations is therefore not their existence, but how they are implemented: when deployed without a clear legal framework, harmonised formats or appropriate funding, these systems generate additional costs and operational friction for airlines.
Four Principles at the Heart of the Advocacy
The joint statement structures its request around four specific requirements, modelled on guidelines from ICAO, the World Customs Organization and IATA:
- A clearly identified legal framework, with a single designated national authority to avoid a scattering of contacts and obligations;
- Proportionate data collection, limited to what is strictly necessary, with defined retention periods and safeguards against discriminatory bias in risk assessment;
- Regulated purpose, restricting data use to border control, security and the fight against serious crime;
- Harmonised technical formats, an essential condition for interoperability between countries and airlines.
The Sticking Point: Who Should Pay?
Beyond technical compliance, the most concrete point of friction concerns funding. The three organisations recall that, under ICAO’s policy on airport charges (Doc 9082), border security is a government responsibility — and therefore a matter for public funding, not a tax on airlines or passengers.
This point is far from trivial. In several African markets, there is a temptation to shift the cost of setting up these digital infrastructures onto carriers through additional fees. For the industry, such an approach has a direct impact on ticket prices, in markets already burdened by a high cost structure (airport taxes, multiple charges, jet fuel taxation).
What This Means for Industry Stakeholders
For states, the challenge is twofold. On one hand, meeting the international security commitments expected by diplomatic and trade partners; on the other, avoiding poorly calibrated regulation that undermines their own air connectivity — a decisive factor for tourism, trade and economic attractiveness.
For airlines, particularly pan-African carriers and regional operators with thin margins, a proliferation of non-harmonised API/PNR formats from one country to another represents a significant technical and operational integration cost — not to mention the risk of penalties or blockages in cases of non-compliance.
For investors and technology partners, the call for harmonisation potentially opens space for pooled digital infrastructure solutions at the regional level (SADC, ECOWAS, economic zones), rather than scattered national deployments — a theme that connects to broader discussions on modernising African airport systems.
A Question of Trajectory for African Connectivity
This position statement fits into a broader debate about the continent’s ability to build a competitive aviation sector without repeating the pitfalls of country-by-country regulatory fragmentation. As several continental initiatives — starting with the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) — aim precisely to reduce these barriers, how states handle the API/PNR issue in the coming months could become a telling indicator of Africa’s capacity — or lack thereof — to reconcile international security requirements with the ambition of a more integrated and more affordable aviation sector.
