Police in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), Germany, carry out an arrest on the basis of Passenger Name Record (PNR) data provided by the federal authority.

A German resident, aged 44, who had just returned from a holiday on the Greek island of Korfu, was confronted with an arrest warrant at Münster-Osnabrück Airport on Wednesday, July 30. The woman, who is not identified in the official search results, had an outstanding fine from a criminal conviction.

According to the public prosecutor's office in Hannover, the woman was wanted due to an unpaid fine from a previous conviction. To avoid a potential 20-day custodial sentence, she immediately paid €1,600.

Since 2017, airlines have been obliged to transmit the data of their passengers to the Federal Criminal Police Office for all cross-border flights. The Federal Criminal Police Office then uses this data to identify wanted individuals. In 2024, the Federal Police executed around 1,500 arrest warrants at German airports, with 560 of these being in intra-Schengen traffic.

The evaluation of Passenger Name Record (PNR) data is used to prevent, detect, and prosecute terrorist offenses and serious crime. PNR data mainly includes names of travelers, flight date, and flight route. Recognized wanted notices are transmitted to the Federal Police, who can take targeted follow-up measures such as entry refusals or arrests.

For further inquiries, the Federal Police Directorate Sankt Augustin, Federal Police Inspectorate Münster, or the Press Office Markus Heuer can be contacted. Their contact information includes telephone number 0251 97437 - 1012, email [email protected], Twitter handle @BPOL NRW, and physical address Bahnhofstr. 1448143 Münster. Additional information can also be found on the Federal Police's website www.bundespolizei.de or under the provided contact address.

It is advisable to pay any outstanding fines before holiday trips to avoid potential issues at airports. The current head of the Bundespoliziedirektion Sankt Augustin is not explicitly named in the search results, but the commander of the GSG 9 unit, which is part of the Bundespolizeidirektion Sankt Augustin, is Robert Hemmerling.

The location of the airport is Münster-Osnabrück, Germany. While the woman's nationality is not specified, she is a German resident. The evaluation of PNR data plays a crucial role in maintaining the safety and security of air travel.