Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport is going to screen passengers from outside the European Union before their arrival.

As of January, the airport will screen 27 flights that are considered potential threats, including arrivals from Beijing, Istanbul and Moscow.

As part of the scheme, airlines will provide passengers’ personal details immediately after they check in. This will give Dutch border police at Schiphol time to identify people on blacklists or individuals trying to enter the country illegally.

The scheme will also allow Dutch border police to track travellers who change flights in Amsterdam. Currently, the police only check people who go through customs.

The details the airlines will pass on include the passenger’s name, date of birth and passport number. They do not register the passenger’s entire itinerary or the means used to pay for it. The information will not be stored for more than 24 hours.

A pilot version of the scheme that began in 2009 has been successful, the security and justice ministry says. The scheme is also being used in a number of other countries including the United States, Germany and Spain.

(cl/jric/imm)

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