Overview

• ARC, owned by eight major US airlines, offers a Travel Intelligence Program that holds over one billion domestic flight records spanning 39 months and updates daily.
• The CBP-ARC agreement, initiated in June 2024 and extendable through 2029, began with an $11,025 transaction and has since moved into its first option year.
• The data covers passenger names, full itineraries and financial details that CBP uses to support federal, state and local investigations of persons of interest.
• Contract terms instruct CBP not to publicly disclose ARC as the source of the flight data absent a valid court order.
• Civil liberties advocates and Senator Ron Wyden warn that the arrangement circumvents legal safeguards and exposes travelers to bulk surveillance.