Download Outwards Advance Passenger Processing

Outwards Advance Passenger Processing
Industry Briefing – frequently asked questions
When will the full boarding rules be enabled?
The full outward Advance Passenger Processing (APP) boarding rules will be enabled at
11am Australian Eastern Summer Time, 14 October 2015. This means that in addition to the
‘OK to Board’ boarding message airlines have been receiving since early June 2015 airlines will
also start to receive the standard negative boarding messages of ‘Do not Board’ and ‘Contact
EOC’, in some instances.
Airlines will need to resolve negative boarding messages by either:
1. correcting data errors
2. using airline overrides for Australian and New Zealand passport holders in response to
‘Do Not Board’ messages
3. resolving ‘Contact EOC’ with contact numbers provided in the outward APP manual
4. using a government override to send the outward APP report, where directed to by the
EOC.
‘Contact EOC’ or ‘Do not Board’ messages mean that the data sent in the APP report is either
incorrect against the passport record, or the passport is not known to the Department (DIBP).
A ‘Do Not Board’ is also given where no travel document is entered for passengers without travel
documents. These passengers will need to be processed through APP using full details and with
Document type ‘N’ and using an airline override. Please refer to section 2.7 of the APP
Departures Manual.
By resolving negative boarding rules, airlines will assist with improving the accuracy of the
passport data and the speed of checking departmental systems. This will result in faster
Smartgate processing and fewer delays at the border.
Airlines are reminded to refer to section 6 of the APP Departures Manual for further information
about APP system overrides.
Where is the APP Departures Manual located?
http://www.border.gov.au/EnteringorleavingAustralia/Documents/outward-APP-manual-forairlines-july-2015.pdf
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What is the impact on transactions that are in progress when the rules
are activated?
There should be little impact on processing when the boarding rules are activated. If the check-in
agent notes any difficulties with the transaction, the passenger/crew member should be
processed again.
What should an airline do if it is experiencing significant issues with
processing passengers that will cause delay of an aircraft’s
departure?
If an airline is experiencing significant issues with processing passengers to the point that the
departure of an aircraft is at risk the following ABF points of contact should be notified:
Table 1 – Check-in Hall Contact Points
Location
Week of Implementation
(14-20 October 2015)
From 21 October 2015
Sydney, Melbourne,
Brisbane, Perth
DIBP Check-In Hall
Assistance Officer
ABF Airport Duty Manager
Darwin, Adelaide, Townsville,
Cairns, Coolangatta
ABF Airport Duty Manager
ABF Airport Duty Manager
Contact details for the DIBP Check-In officers (for Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth) will be
provided by Tuesday 13 October 2015. For all other centres, normal ABF contact arrangements
should be followed.
Should airline staff or the public contact the EOC?
Only airline staff can resolve ‘Contact EOC’ situations. The airline acts as a disinterested third
party and confirms the identity of the traveller to the EOC officer. Airline staff should not advise
travellers to contact EOC or provide the EOC contact details to resolve negative boarding
message.
The EOC will not take calls or speak with passengers.
How should airlines process crew when there is a last minute crew
change and the new crew need to be reported?
Airlines are reminded that mandatory APP reporting for crew is also required for flights departing
Australia. When the APP compliance regime comes into effect missed reports for crew members
may incur an infringement if crew APP reports are not provided.
If airline crew scheduling areas require Carrier Portal access to complete this reporting
requirement, please contact your airline’s APP Carrier Portal Administrator or email
[email protected].
Where an airline cannot process crew through their DCS, airlines can arrange access to the
Carrier Portal for their staff to fulfil their reporting obligations.
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Can crew use Departure SmartGates?
Crew cannot be processed via Departure SmartGates as the technology does not yet support this
function. Departure Smartgates will record crew as passengers resulting in airlines being charged
extra passenger movement charges. Instead, Crew must be immigration cleared by an Australian
Border Force officer. Crew may, however, use Arrivals SmartGate.
What happens with flight cancellations?
Airlines will have to check in passengers again for the new flight. Airlines will need to advise their
local ABF staff and follow their usual procedure.
Can the outward APP system accept duplicate check-ins?
The APP system accepts duplicates but always returns a different code: 8508 ‘Repeated OK to
Board’. For example, the duplicate can occur when the same person is processed twice and the
second person is not processed in error. As the 8508 is not the same as an 8501 – OK to Board
an airline can trap the duplicate message returned by outward APP and advise the airline
operator to check for a missing outward APP passenger.
Is it possible to have an example of a ‘Contact EOC’ screenshot?
All airlines DCS systems display data on the screen differently so it is not possible to hand out a
screen shot for Contact EOC. The message sent by the SITA OAPP system will be
8510 – ‘Contact EOC’.
Is it possible to print boarding passes during a systems down event?
Airline staff should consult with their DCS support staff and follow their airline’s usual procedures.
Some airlines’ DCS has an override that can be used to print boarding passes when APP is not
available.
Please keep in mind that it is not always the APP System that is down. Sometimes it is problem
with an airline’s DCS or the airport’s connectivity. The quickest way to determine if it is the APP
system that is at issue is to check if other airlines are affected. If no other airline is affected, the
problem is likely to be an issue with the airline’s systems.
When APP cannot be reported, the airline must notify the EOC for each flight affected, as flights
that are reported are exempt from APP reporting requirements and no penalty will be applied for
these missing APP reports.
In the event the APP System is unavailable for passenger processing, airlines should follow these
steps:
1. Confirm the problem – airline system problem or APP/SITA problem?
2. Notify the EOC of outage
3. Report flights affected individually as they arise
4. Report APP System issue to SITA.
More information about Systems Down Procedures is available in section 8 of the
APP Departures Manual.
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Which airline is responsible for Outward APP under a transfer transit?
Where check-in for both flights is done at the point of origin, the airline operating the aircraft is
responsible for ensuring that the passenger is reported using outward APP, even though the
check-in data is expected to be supplied to the airline operating the outward APP transit flight. In
short, the airline whose aircraft is crossing the Australian border is responsible for ensuring the
APP report has been sent.
What happens when passengers leave the transit lounge and then
returns when transiting?
Any check-in and APP for a departing passenger must occur before Immigration processing.
For example if a passenger leaves the transit lounge:
•
prior to outward check-in (within the transit lounge) and enters Australia by
passing through Immigration processing when departing Australia, prior to
Immigration processing, the passenger will need to be check-in as departing
Australia
•
after outward transit check-in and enters Australia by passing through
Immigration processing when departing Australia, the passenger will already be
checked-in and will already have a boarding pass for departing Australia.
Providing outward APP was completed in good faith as a transit prior to the
passenger entering Australia, no outward APP infringement will occur.
How are passengers processed under interline baggage agreements?
An interline baggage agreement with an alliance partner allows for a passenger’s baggage to be
transferred to the follow-on airline but the passenger must be checked in by the carrier on the next
flight segment. The passenger needs to be processed as an outward APP Transit while in the
Transit Lounge. If the passenger leaves the Transit Lounge and enters Australia, their departure
must be recorded as an APP departure movement.
What will happen when travellers have similar names and there is a
dual recording of boarding passes?
For non-Australian or New Zealand citizen passports, where the APP system identifies more than
one person with the same passport, the APP system asks for further details. It then uses the full
passport text to identify if the traveller is actually recorded and is known to the Department using
that passport. If the supplied traveller data does not match the DIBP data then the airline will be
required to Contact EOC.
What are the dates of the infringement moratorium?
After receiving feedback from industry, and in consideration of the delays in implementing the
outward APP boarding rules, the current infringement moratorium has been extended to the end
of February 2016. This will allow airlines to monitor and adjust their procedures before the interim
compliance arrangement begins on 1 March 2016.
How does the interim compliance arrangement work?
From 1 March 2016, airlines will be notified of all missed transactions but will not be infringed for a
stated number of missed transactions each month. This number will be determined during the
infringement moratorium period and will be based on airline performance during that period.
Airlines will be infringed for missed APP reports that fall outside of this number of allowed missed
transactions.
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When does the full compliance regime come into effect?
Full compliance with outward APP reporting will come into effect from 1 July 2016.
The Department is currently considering an appropriate compliance threshold rate that ensures
both policy intent and maximum industry compliance can be reasonably achieved.
What is the time gap between flight departing and when the
infringement notice will be delivered?
The department recognises that airlines need early notification of a missed report to assist with
identifying the cause of the missed outward APP report. The department will provide further
factsheets on the delivery for the infringement notice in factsheets before the infringement
moratorium period expires.
How will the infringement cycle work?
The Department is working towards developing an automated process that will facilitate
calculating an airline’s compliance performance and use this to inform infringement processing.
Missed APP reports will be sent to airlines on a daily basis to help them monitor their reporting
compliance. Infringement notices for missed outwards APP reports will be issued to airlines on a
monthly basis.
Will airlines be infringed for passengers with exceptional
circumstances like newlyweds and refugees?
It is important to remember that the information in the passenger’s passport is key and it is the
airline’s responsibility to ensure the data sent to the Department is accurate and matches the
passport’s details.
When a ‘Contact EOC’ message is returned in the cases of newlyweds where the passport
doesn’t reflect the new name, it is the airlines responsibility to follow the Contact EOC prompt,
contact the EOC when required and follow their instructions. The EOC will advise the airline that
they will need to process the passenger using the name shown on their passport and the airline
will need to change their booking to match the name shown on the passport. If the passenger has
their new name endorsed in the passport, the EOC will add the new name to the record.
Letters of Identity issued to travellers holding a refugee or protection via issued by the Australian
government, also known as a DFTTAs (document for Travel to Australia) are used for first time
travel to Australia and cannot be used when departing Australia. If a DFFTA is presented for
outward APP processing, the check-in agent should request the traveller to produce a valid travel
document to action outward APP. Please refer to section 2.2 of the APP Departures Manual.
The airline will not be infringed for these exceptional cases as long as they provide APP reports
for their passengers and crew.
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Will airlines be infringed if a passenger uses a different passport?
If a dual national passport holder uses a different passport at immigration processing, that is,
different to the one used at check-in, the airline is not responsible for the passenger’s action and
will not be infringed. It is the airline’s responsibility to capture the correct APP data.
The Department has developed a system solution for Australian dual nationals. The solution
allows these travellers’ passport records to be linked after the first contact with EOC, reducing
negative boarding messages for future flights from Australia.
Nevertheless, it is preferred that travellers use their Australian passport or the passport holding
their Australian visa.
Where the traveller must use a different passport, this passport may not be known to the
Department, and will result in a ‘Contact EOC’ message. The EOC will then capture the new
passport details and an ‘OK to Board’ message will be returned.
More information?
The Outward APP Systems Down Procedure card is available in PDF format on the Departures
APP website at http://www.border.gov.au/EnteringorleavingAustralia/Documents/OutwardAPP_systems-down-procedure_help-card.pdf.
If you would like more information about the content included in this factsheet, or to ask further
questions email [email protected].
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