Delay warning over new US entry rules
Business travellers not using a travel management company to book flights to the US will face lengthy delays and “pandemonium” at airports from tomorrow (October 4), it is claimed.
The warning from the Guild of Travel Management Companies (GTMC) comes prior to the deadline enforced by US authorities whereby overseas travellers entering the US will be required to provide enhanced information.
The GTMC has lobbied airlines and Global Distribution Companies to create a common standard to allow the transmission of the required data in advance, minimising passenger inconvenience at the UK’s airports.
Most of the data can be recorded from a scan of machine-readable passports. But certain specific information will need to be collected directly from the passenger, such as the passenger’s country of residence and their first residential address in the US.
Currently, only British Airways has created a facility to collect this information in advance; for other airlines, both these data fields will need to be collected manually at the airport, the GTMC says.
Guild chief executive Philip Carlisle said: “Travelling times are getting longer as travellers are forced to deal with increased security measures at the airport adding at least an hour on to the whole check in process.
“Some airlines have indicated that, in order to gather all the information required for travel to the US, travellers are going to have to allow an extra two hours, on top of the three hours currently advised, before departure.
“The extra time can be reduced, if not totally avoided, by business travellers booking through a travel management company. Addresses can be extracted from US hotel bookings made with the TMC, which will then advise travellers on the best way to avoid hanging around at the check-in desk providing information and filling in forms.”
Report by Phil Davies
Phil Davies
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