The Cabinet on Wednesday approved a bill providing that airlines will transmit beforehand information about the travellers to the Unit of Information about Passengers which will be constituted at the Border Police. The goal is to strengthen national security and to counteract terrorist activities, IPN reports.

Under the bill, data will be transferred immediately after relevant information appears, but not earlier than 48 hours and not later than 24 hours before the planned departure. If data about the registration of passengers are not available, the airline will pass on updates every two hours.

The airlines will also provide the necessary information immediately after the passengers get on the plane that is ready for takeoff. The data will be transmitted exclusively by automated personalized push notification messages and will be stored for five years. The collected information will be used strictly for the set purposes by observing the basics human rights and the legislation on personal data protection.

On June 30, 2023, a border guard and an airport security officer were killed at the Chisinau International Airport after a citizen of Tajikistan who was denied entry into Moldova fired at them after grabbing the firearm of the first. The perpetrator was hurt during the siege and died in the hospital several days later. His body was repatriated to Tajikistan by relatives. The next day after the incident, it became known that the individual was wanted in Tajikistan on suspicion that he formed part of a criminal group that one week earlier kidnapped the first vice president of a local bank.