body: I see that United Airlines publicly display the first few characters of the last name of their passengers taking a given flight. 
  
  
  Example from <https://www.united.com/en/us/flightstatus/details/855/2020-01-14/LIM/IAH/UA> ([mirror](http://archive.is/WCj0w)):
  
  
  ![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/NxqBY.jpg)
  
  
  Are airlines allowed to publicly display the first few characters of the last name of their passengers taking a given flight?
  
  
  
title: Are airlines allowed to publicly display the first few characters of the last name of their passengers taking a given flight?