Every international journey begins long before take-off or boarding. Travel operators are responsible for collecting and transmitting Advance Passenger Information (API) to immigration authorities. This is vital for smooth passenger journeys and compliance considerations. But there’s a problem: API data is often incorrect, incomplete, or inconsistently captured. While industry-wide errors rates are hard to come by, few will argue it’s a major headache.
These errors are more than a paperwork problem. They can lead to poor passenger experiences through denied boarding, false positive matches during security, or missed connections, and operational disruptions, hefty financial penalties, and reputational damage for airlines. This blog explores the hidden risks of inaccurate API collection and highlights how easy-to-implement technology can help overcome them, especially with seamless, secure ID scanning.
What are the API compliance requirements for airlines?
Advance Passenger Information (API) is a set of passenger identity data elements required by border control agencies prior to arrival or departure. Airlines typically need to collect data including:
Full name
Date of birth
Gender
Nationality
Travel document number and expiry date
API is collected electronically and sent to authorities before departure. Airlines, cruise operators, and other commercial travel providers are obligated to comply with API regulations for international routes and to follow established API standards for data submission.
Failure to provide complete, accurate information can lead to serious consequences:
Fines and sanctions from border authorities can reach £10,000 per breach
Authorities expect operators to provide data in consistent formats, with no tolerance for avoidable entry errors. As global travel volumes rebound and new security checks are layered onto the travel journey, the demand for precise, verifiable identity data is only increasing.
What are the hidden costs of API inaccuracy for airlines?
API compliance violations often start with seemingly small data entry errors. But the consequences can snowball rapidly.
Passenger boarding denials and operational disruptions
Errors entering travel ID information are commonplace. One misspelled name or transposed digit can result in a mismatch with official documents. That’s enough for authorities to deny boarding or escalate security checks.
Extra costs for rebooking, accommodation, or alternative travel incurred by the airlines
These disruptions also affect airport operations, ground staff, and customer service teams.
For operators, this creates additional resource demand and impacts punctuality metrics. Over time, recurring errors erode staff confidence in internal systems, while passengers lose trust in digital processes meant to simplify their experience.
Examining financial penalties and compliance risks
Regulators impose fines for each instance of inaccurate API submission and by countries or regions. These penalties can reach $5,000 per passenger for first offenses, and up to $10,000 for repeat violations.
On top of the financial cost, authorities often track an operator’s history of compliance. Carriers with repeated violations may face increased scrutiny, delayed processing, and reduced operational flexibility.
Even more concerning, regulatory scrutiny may extend beyond specific journeys to impact route viability, audit frequency, and partnership opportunities with government agencies.
With travel regulations tightening worldwide, especially in the EU, maintaining an error-free API record is critical for risk mitigation.
API compliance impact: Reputation and customer trust erosion
Passengers affected by boarding denials or delays often turn to social media to voice frustrations. Even isolated incidents can go viral, eroding brand trust.
Perception matters. Travelers choose operators they believe to be efficient, secure, and reliable. A single compliance slip-up can shift customer preference to a competitor.
A digital-first check-in experience is only as strong as its weakest link. Frustration from data entry errors often spills over into negative NPS scores, increased call center volumes, and customer churn.
Travel operators that deploy APIs efficiently to collect and validate passenger data in real time can prevent many of these issues, ensuring accuracy from the start. Additionally, to deliver a reliable experience, travel operators must address both functional and non functional requirements - ensuring not just accuracy but also system resilience, speed, and privacy.
What are the common sources of API data errors?
Despite best efforts by airlines and passengers, many single API errors originate in predictable places:
Manual entry of names and numbers from passports
Autofill tools populating incorrect or outdated information
User typos on mobile or desktop check-in forms
Inconsistent formats for names, dates, or document numbers
Operators face added complexity when dealing with international ID documents. Different countries issue different formats (unstructured documents), include multiple data zones, and present layout challenges for both humans and machines.
Many legacy systems are not optimized to parse international documents accurately, especially when scanning images of low quality, under poor lighting, or with camera hardware limitations. Some older systems even struggle to manage request header data consistently, leading to further inaccuracies.
Without a robust, automated solution in place, these errors persist and multiply.
How ID Scanning helps solve API collection challenges
ID Bolt is Scandit’s pre-built ID scanning solution designed for web and mobile integration. It enables passengers to scan passports and IDs directly within the check-in or booking experience—with no app download required.
Instead of manual entry, passengers scan their ID in real time, using their smartphone or webcam. ID Bolt extracts relevant fields and instantly populates the correct form fields.
This transforms the experience for both passengers and operators:
Eliminate manual entry errors
Reduce check-in friction
Achieve higher data accuracy for compliance
Capture and process ID data in <1 second
All data processed on-device to support data privacy regulations
For travel businesses, this creates a higher level of assurance at every stage—from self check-in at home, to agent-assisted processes at the airport or cruise terminal. It also supports the API development process, ensuring a smooth integration of ID scanning with broader digital check-in systems.
Fast, accurate, passport scanning for API compliance
Embeds on any website with just a few lines of code
Ready to test in a staging environment within one hour
Optimized for both mobile and desktop environments
No app downloads or custom build needed
IT teams can deploy ID Bolt without interrupting existing check-in flows, and with full security compliance including on-device processing, avoiding PII storage and putting privacy, anonymization, and functional requirements front-and-center.
Future-proofing API compliance for 2025 and beyond
The regulatory landscape is shifting fast. With ETIAS going live in 2025 and broader digitization efforts by immigration authorities, travel operators must modernize their approach to API.
ID Bolt helps future-proof your workflows by:
Ensuring accuracy and consistency across regions
Enabling global ID support for 2500+ documents
Adapting quickly to new document formats and compliance mandates
Supporting seamless integration with your existing API design, business model, and backend systems
Operators that adopt smart data capture today will be better equipped to navigate tomorrow’s travel demands.
Why leading travel brands choose Scandit
Scandit works with some of the world’s largest and most forward-thinking travel providers—including airlines, rail operators, and cruise lines to help:
Reduce API-related support tickets
Increase customer satisfaction scores
Shorten check-in times and lower error rates
Enable seamless integration into mobile apps and websites
Built with an API first approach, Scandit Smart Data Capture is trusted globally for its speed, accuracy and reliability across even the most demanding environments.
Watch a recent panel discussion where leading airlines Aer Lingus and KLM and air travel software experts from Scandit and Dreamix discuss how technology is helping improve passenger experiences, API collection, and compliance.
Final Call: Accurate API collection starts here
Advance Passenger Information is not just a regulatory requirement—it’s a mission-critical function for modern travel operators. And with error rates at 50%, legacy processes are no longer fit for purpose or key requirements.
ID Bolt provides a seamless, secure, and scalable solution for real-time ID scanning:
Capture data with near-perfect accuracy
Comply with global regulations
Improve operational flow and passenger satisfaction
Integrate quickly, with minimal IT overhead
Stay compliant. Stay efficient. Stay ahead.
Let passengers scan. Let your teams focus on service.
Frequently asked Questions: Advance Passenger Information (API) compliance
What exactly is Advance Passenger Information (API) and why is it required?
Advance Passenger Information (API) refers to a set of personal identification data - such as full name, date of birth, nationality, gender, and travel document details - that airlines, cruise lines, and other travel operators are legally required to collect and submit to border control authorities before a passenger’s departure or arrival.
The purpose is to enable immigration authorities to pre-screen travelers for security, immigration, and customs purposes. API compliance is critical for protecting borders, enhancing passenger safety, and ensuring smooth travel experiences.
Which countries currently require Advance Passenger Information?
European Union nations (soon expanding with ETIAS)
Australia, Canada, China, UAE, and others
Some countries mandate interactive API (iAPI), where passenger data is sent and acknowledged in real time before boarding is approved. Regulations and data fields may vary by destination, so operators must stay up to date to avoid penalties.
What are the most common API errors that result in penalties?
The most frequent causes of API-related issues include:
Typos and manual data entry errors
Incomplete or expired ID data
Inconsistent formats (e.g., date formats or name sequencing)
Autofill mistakes during self check-in
Low-quality ID images causing misread fields
These errors often stem from manual input processes or systems unable to parse international documents correctly, particularly those with non-standard layouts or multiple data zones.
How much can API errors cost airlines and cruise operators in fines?
Penalties for API non-compliance vary by country but are consistently severe. Airlines and cruise lines may face:
£2,000 to £10,000 per passenger in the UK
$5,000 to $10,000 per violation in the US
Additional scrutiny, processing delays, or even denial of landing rights in severe or repeated cases
These costs quickly escalate, especially on high-volume international routes, and are often compounded by reputational damage and increased operational overhead.
How does ID Bolt ensure passenger data privacy and security?
Scandit’s ID Bolt is built with privacy and security at its core:
On-device data processing ensures personal information is never stored or transmitted externally
This ensures operators can confidently integrate ID Bolt without risking violations of data protection regulations.
Can ID Bolt be integrated with existing travel booking systems?
Yes. ID Bolt is designed for seamless integration with minimal engineering effort:
Works on any website with just a few lines of JavaScript
No app download is required—guests can scan passports directly in browser
Supports both desktop and mobile check-in flows
Compatible with modern front-end frameworks and airline PSS (Passenger Service Systems)
This flexibility allows travel operators to augment current systems rather than replace them.
How quickly can travel operators implement ID Bolt for API collection?
ID Bolt implementation for API collection is rapid and disruption-free:
Can be deployed in a staging environment in under 1 hour
Requires no overhaul of backend systems
Fully supported by Scandit’s developer resources and integration experts
This allows travel operators to move from pilot to production in weeks - not months. R
What impact does ETIAS have on Advance Passenger Information requirements?
ETIAS (European Travel Information and Authorisation System), launching in 2025, introduces new layers of complexity for API compliance:
Requires pre-authorization for non-EU travelers entering the Schengen Area
Demands greater accuracy and consistency in passenger data submitted
Adds real-time data cross-checks with security databases (e.g., Interpol, Europol)
ID Bolt helps operators stay compliant by capturing and validating travel ID data at the point of check-in - ensuring submissions meet ETIAS standards and timelines with near-perfect accuracy.
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