Italy's privacy watchdog fines Emirates over handling of passenger health data

ROME, June 17 (Reuters) - 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.

($1 = 0.8617 euros)

(Reporting by Giulia Segreti, editing by Alvise Armellini)