Turkmenistan’s capital Ashgabat hosted a meeting on the implementation of the Advance Passenger Information System (APIS) in the country.
The round table was organized by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) organized jointly with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan and the State Migration Service of Turkmenistan. It gathered representatives of the the State Migration Service, the State Border Service and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Turkmenistan and the Türkmenhowaýollary (Turkmen Airlines) Agency, the official Turkmen media reported on Thursday.
Emphasizing the importance of continued cooperation with IOM on implementation of APIS in Turkmenistan, the sides discussed prospects for further cooperation, in particular the development of a roadmap in this area.
The APIS provides for the collection of biometric data and information about the flight, passengers during pre-flight check-in. After the departure of the flight, the information is sent electronically to the border control authorities at the passenger's destination.
As of 2017, APIS is a standard obligation required of all member states of the International Civil Aviation Organization, of which Turkmenistan has been a full member since 1993.
