Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

Texas International Airlines Virtual (“vTIA,” “we,” “us”) is a volunteer-operated virtual airline for flight simulation enthusiasts. vTIA is not affiliated with the historical Texas International Airlines.

Data Controller: The vTIA Chief Executive Officer.
Contact: ceo@vtexas-intl.com or via the Contact page.

2. What Data We Collect

When you apply for membership:

• First and last name
• Email address
• VATSIM CID (network identifier)
• Self-reported flight simulation experience
• Virtual airline history (provided voluntarily)
• IP address at time of submission

When you are an active member:

• Account information: name, email, assigned callsign, employee number, join date
• VATSIM network data: position, groundspeed, altitude, heading — sourced from the public VATSIM data feed
• Flight records (PIREPs): departure/arrival airports, aircraft type, flight duration, pilot notes
• Account activity: date and time of last login, GDPR consent timestamp
• Profile information you choose to provide (biography, avatar)

What we do not collect:

We do not collect payment information, browsing history, tracking data, or any personal information from visitors who have not submitted an application or created an account.

3. How We Use Your Data

• Account management — to create and maintain your pilot profile
• Flight tracking — to match your VATSIM flights to your vTIA account and build your flight record
• Rank and progression — to calculate flight hours and determine rank eligibility
• Communications — to send application decisions, PIREP approvals, and operational notices
• Live flight display — your callsign and active flight data may appear on the public flight board
• Account security — last login date is recorded to help detect unauthorized access

4. Legal Basis for Processing

5. Data Sharing

We do not sell your data. We share data only with:

• VATSIM — your VATSIM CID is used to match your account to the public VATSIM network data feed. VATSIM's own privacy policy governs VATSIM data.
• Resend (resend.com) — our transactional email provider. Your email address is passed to Resend solely to deliver operational messages.
• GoDaddy — our hosting provider. All data resides on servers within GoDaddy's infrastructure.

6. Data Retention

7. Your Rights Under GDPR

Under the General Data Protection Regulation, you have the right to:

• Access — request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
• Correction — request that inaccurate data be corrected
• Erasure — request deletion of your personal data (“right to be forgotten”)
• Portability — receive your data in a portable, machine-readable format
• Object — object to certain types of processing
• Withdraw consent — at any time; withdrawal results in account closure

To exercise any of these rights, email ceo@vtexas-intl.com or use the Contact page. We will respond within 30 days.

8. Security

Passwords are stored using bcrypt hashing and are never stored in plain text. Access to administrative systems is restricted by role. We do not store payment card or financial data.

9. Cookies

We use a single session cookie to maintain your login state. No tracking, advertising, or third-party analytics cookies are used on this website.

10. Changes to This Policy

Material changes to this policy will be communicated by email to all active members and will require re-acknowledgement on next login.

11. Anti-Software Piracy Policy

Texas International Airlines Virtual maintains a strict zero-tolerance policy on software piracy in compliance with VATSIM Virtual Airline Associate requirements (VATSIM-POL-VA Associate §8.11).

Definition

Software piracy is defined as the use of any software contrary to its license agreement, whether deliberate or unintentional. This includes flight simulation add-ons, charts, navigation data, and any other software used in connection with vTIA activities.

Requirements for all members and staff

• All software used in connection with vTIA activities must be properly and legally licensed
• Members must be familiar with the license agreements of any software they use
• No pirated software, copyrighted charts, or unlicensed materials may be posted, linked, or distributed through any vTIA platform or channel
• If a software license agreement was not provided at the time of purchase, members should request one from the vendor before use

Enforcement

• Any member found to be deliberately using pirated software in connection with vTIA activities will be immediately removed from the roster
• vTIA will notify VATSIM of the violation where the member is a VATSIM network participant
• Notification to VATSIM does not guarantee immunity from VATSIM's own administrative action

Reporting copyright infringement

If vTIA receives notice of copyright, trademark, or patent infringement involving a member or our platforms, the CEO will notify the VATSIM Director of Virtual Airlines in writing within 30 days. Failure to report within this window may result in suspension from the VATSIM VAA program.

To report a suspected infringement, contact ceo@vtexas-intl.com.