Airline data broker selling 5 billion passenger records to US government

According to 404 Media, the data broker Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC) provides access to a searchable database of at least five billion passenger records, updated daily, to federal agencies. The article notes that ARC is owned and operated by at least eight US airlines and sells the data under the Travel Intelligence Program (TIP). It also reveals that at least one agency, the US Secret Service, has a contract to access this data, paying $885,000 for data through 2028.

Known clients reportedly include Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the US Marshals Service. The dataset draws from flights booked via 12,800 travel agencies and submissions from over 270 carriers globally to ARC. The piece, posted on 17 September 2025 by Danny Bradbury, says the five‑billion‑record figure far exceeds prior estimates of around a billion records.