The EU has finally approved plans to share airlines’ passenger data with police in a bid to track foreign terrorists traveling to and from ISIS hotspots Iraq and Syria.
Details will be collected from all flights entering or leaving the EU, as well as from flights between its member states.
The information will then be stored for six months.
Islamist attacks in Paris last year and in Brussels last month ensured the Passenger Name Record (PNR) law was introduced more quickly than it might have been.
The measure has been debated for more than five years, with privacy campaigners putting concerns about infringements on personal freedom ahead of safety and security measures.
MEPs voted by 461 to 179 in favor of the new law, while nine abstained.
Until now, individual states including the UK have had agreements in place to share information with other countries such as the United States and Canada, but there has been no law forcing airlines to share records within the EU.
The EU already has passenger data deals with the US, Canada and Australia.
At least 5,000 Europeans are believed to have trained or fought in Syria and Iraq but authorities are struggling to track their movements and prove their activities.
Last November 130 people were killed in attacks in Paris. Two suicide bombs in Brussels last month left 32 people dead.
The agreement will give law enforcement agencies in the 28 EU nations access to information gathered by airlines including names, baggage details, itineraries, plus credit card and contact details.