Italy's Privacy Watchdog Fines Emirates Over Handling Of Passenger Health Data
The Italian regulator found breaches on transparency and data storage limits by Emirates airline.
Rome : Italy's data protection authority said on Wednesday it had fined the Emirates airline €180,000 ($208,890) for the allegedly unfair handling of health data of passengers with reduced mobility.
The case stemmed from a complaint by a passenger who said Emirates had made her fill in a medical form even though she was not among the categories required to submit such documentation.
The Italian regulator found that the processing of health data itself was lawful as necessary to guarantee safe transport and assistance, but identified breaches on transparency and data storage limits.
The authority said Emirates failed to provide sufficiently clear and complete privacy information, either on its website or through staff assisting passengers.
It also found that the airline retained health data collected via medical forms for seven years, which it considered excessive and disproportionate.
Emirates was not immediately available for comment.
