Major Airlines Sold Passenger Data to Border Agency in Secret Deal
Airlines’ data broker sold names, flight records, and payment details to CBP while shielding deal from public view.
WASHINGTON — Several of the largest U.S. airlines secretly allowed a data broker to sell passengers’ personal and financial information to Customs and Border Protection (CBP), according to internal government documents obtained by 404 Media.
The broker, Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC), which is partially owned by major carriers including Delta, American Airlines, and United, collected data such as names, flight schedules, and payment details and sold access to CBP under an arrangement that kept ARC’s identity hidden from the public.
Civil liberties advocates have raised concerns about the implications of the deal, especially given CBP’s role in aviation security and its growing data surveillance programs. CBP said it uses the information to assist state and local law enforcement in monitoring air travel safety.
Sen. Ron Wyden criticized the arrangement, stating that the airlines "gave the green light to sell their customers’ data to the government" and that ARC has "refused to answer oversight questions from Congress."
The revelation comes amid heightened scrutiny of federal deportation programs. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), in coordination with CBP, has increased deportation flights, in some cases leading airlines to cancel commercial routes in favor of government contracts.
New technologies, such as facial recognition systems deployed by CBP at airports, are also contributing to concerns about the scope of government surveillance. While these systems are promoted as security improvements, they collect vast amounts of biometric data.
404 Media’s reporting suggests that the ARC-CBP agreement may have affected up to one billion passenger records. Whether this data has been used to facilitate deportation operations remains unclear, but backlash is already mounting. Avelo Airlines, which began DHS deportation flights in April from Arizona’s Mesa Gateway Airport, has faced significant criticism.
As tensions grow over data privacy and immigration enforcement, the airline industry is becoming increasingly entangled in federal surveillance and deportation efforts.