Belgium is moving a step closer to the data-driven border of the future. At its electronic cabinet meeting on Saturday 18 July 2026, the federal Council of Ministers approved a draft law that will set up a single national hub – the “National Travel Targeting Center” (NTTC) – to collect and process Advance Passenger Information (API) from all airlines serving Belgium. The bill, tabled jointly by Interior Minister Bernard Quintin and Asylum & Migration Minister Anneleen Van Bossuyt, transposes new EU regulations that mandate Member States to connect to a central EU ‘router’ for API flows. Instead of linking every competent authority separately, Belgium intends to funnel all data through the NTTC, housed in the National Crisis Center. Belgium already gathers Passenger Name Record (PNR) data under EU Directive 2016/681, but API differs in that it is collected at check-in and contains identity document details that can be run against security and immigration watch-lists before a traveller boards. The government argues that earlier access to reliable biographic data will allow the border police (Police fédérale / Federal Police) and the Immigration Office to focus checks on higher-risk passengers, speed up clearance for the vast majority of travellers and help combat identity fraud. It also dovetails with the fully operational EU Entry/Exit System (EES) that has been causing longer queues at Brussels Airport this summer. Linking API to EES records is expected to reduce manual data entry and free up officers. For carriers, the legislation means they will have to transmit API in a harmonised format to the European router and ensure data quality. The draft law foresees administrative fines for late or inaccurate submissions but offers an implementation grace period once the NTTC connection is certified. Industry sources say most network airlines already send API to other jurisdictions (notably the US and UK) and should be able to comply quickly, but smaller charter operators will need IT upgrades. From a privacy perspective, the proposal introduces national safeguards that mirror the EU rules: data may be stored for a maximum of 48 hours unless it triggers a ‘hit’, after which stricter retention limits apply; access is restricted to vetted officials; and the processing architecture will be audited annually by Belgium’s Data Protection Authority and the Police Information Oversight Body. The bill has now been sent for opinion to those oversight bodies and to the Council of State. If adopted by Parliament after the summer recess, the NTTC could start testing with a pilot group of airlines in early 2027. For global mobility managers, the change should be largely seamless for travellers but could influence risk-assessment processes. Carriers may tighten document-checking at foreign outstations to avoid fines, and passengers with dual nationality or recent passport renewals should ensure their reservation details exactly match their travel documents. Companies that charter flights for assignment groups will want to confirm that their operators can meet the Belgian API specifications in time. In the longer term, the NTTC is likely to become the focal point for combining API, PNR, EES and ETIAS data – a trend that is reshaping how the Schengen area balances openness with security.
Source: News.belgium
