Air passengers to the EU will have their personal data collected in no fewer than three separate systems if new EU anti-terrorism plans take effect, a top EU official said on Friday.

The European Commission will next month propose a register collecting biometric information on all travelers entering and leaving the 27-nation bloc, plus a check on air passengers with a form to be filled on the Internet some days before traveling, EU Justice and Security Commissioner Franco Frattini said.

This would be on top of a US style anti-terrorism plan for collecting more personal data on air passengers via the air carriers, presented at the end of last year by the EU executive.

"Terrorism remains the threat number one," Frattini told reporters as European justice and interior ministers met in Slovenia, current holder of the rotating EU presidency.

"The package of measures will aim at increasing the capacity of the EU to protect its external borders," he said.

The entry/exit register would help find out if people stay longer than they are allowed, Frattini said, whereas the electronic form could replace visas and information handed out by air carriers ahead of travel.

(Agencies January 26, 2008)