New Rules To Add Hassle, Delays For Visitors To The U.S.

Airlines are predicting chaos for passengers flying into and out of the United States on Oct. 4, when the U.S. Bureau of Customs & Border Protection finally introduces the controversial extension of its Advance Passenger Information System. They expect the new arrangements to add at least one hour to checkin time and that they will have to deny boarding to travelers who have not revealed where they are staying on their first night in the United States. Travel management companies also said the regulations could increase fees for corporate clients whose travelers change their minds about where they will spend that crucial first night.

APIS is the system by which airlines transmit personal details of passengers to Customs & Border Protection within 15 minutes of departure on U.S.-bound flights and 15 minutes before departure on flights exiting the United States. The system pre-dates Sept. 11, 2001, but became compulsory in December 2002. At present, the fields required for APIS data are confined to the information that can be scanned from machine-readable passports, such as name and date of birth, making the airlines' task a simple one both logistically and ethically.

However, a new rule published by CBP in April, but which has come to light only in the past few weeks, widens the APIS requirement to information not found on a passport. In particular, it demands to know passengers' country of residence and宧or those who are not U.S. citizens or residents or in transit for less than eight hours庪here they will stay on their first night in the United States. Passengers are required to state the full address, including the zip code, unless they are staying in a hotel, in which case the name of the hotel, the street and the city will suffice.

The Bush administration originally intended to introduce this extended version of APIS in December 2003, but delayed it after airlines complained they were unready to implement it and did not see what value it would contribute to security. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which has oversight of CBP, appears to have taken on board the first criticism but not the second by delaying publication of its final rule to April 7 this year.

Even so, the Association of European Airlines told the European Commission the October deadline is "not realistic and an extension [is] imperative," ideally by an additional nine months. Furthermore, airlines on both sides of the Atlantic have been thrown into an even greater panic by suggestions from DHS that they may have to transmit full APIS data on each passenger 60 minutes before departure.

"The International Air Transport Association has built computer models which show that massive queues would build up at the airport," said Julia Egerer, manager of trade and social affairs for the AEA, which officially protested to DHS in conjunction with the U.S. Air Transport Association. "Passengers would have to show up at the airport at least three hours before departure." Even without the 60-minute rule, said Egerer, "the APIS rules will delay flights for passengers."

"We are very much against it," confirmed a spokesman for British Airways. "Passengers will have to turn up at least an hour earlier than they do already." The spokesman added that a 60-minute ruling would play havoc with BA's substantial transfer business, which relies on short, efficient connections.

Alan Coles, chairman of the air working party of the United Kingdom's Guild of Travel Management Companies, believes a 60-minute requirement would persuade some business travelers to avoid flying to the U.S. "It could switch off business travelers if they have to turn up at the airport hours before departure," he said.

DHS spokesman Jarrod Agen confirmed the department is reviewing how long before departure airlines must transmit APIS data. "We have looked at different time frames ranging from 30 minutes to two hours," he said.

In response, Egerer said: "The suspicion is that DHS is pressing for 60 with an intention of settling on 30 but even that would lead to huge costs and an unmanageable situation."

Lufthansa and BA both have estimated that the new APIS data will take them an additional two minutes per passenger to process. However, they are among the better-prepared airlines. The AEA estimates it will take other carriers three to seven minutes. Assuming an average of 3.5 minutes per passenger, the new APIS rule will add 17.5 hours to the checkin process for a flight carrying 300 people.

BA has added a page to the "manage my booking" area of its Web site that will enable passengers to submit APIS details themselves. Airlines also are looking to TMCs to log the data when making bookings on behalf of clients. This will depend in part, however, on whether the global distribution systems have introduced the relevant fields. The GTMC said only one of the four major GDSs currently is in a state of readiness.

Despite their best efforts, airlines expect a substantial minority of passengers will turn up at the airport without having registered where they are going to stay in the U.S., and a smaller number will not know where they are staying. The published rule reveals that CBP will admit these passengers into the U.S. after interrogating them on arrival, but the carrier "may be penalized for submitting an incomplete manifest."

This leaves airlines in the invidious position of deciding whether to deny boarding to passengers without addresses or risk a hefty fine from the U.S. authorities by letting them fly. "There is no clear consensus yet on what airlines will do in such an event," said Egerer.

Another potential problem will arise if travelers change where they stay on their first night in the U.S. This could prove costly for companies. "If their contract with their TMC is that amendments must be paid for, then yes, they will be charged," said Coles. "Potentially, this is a huge addition to our workload." The GTMC is hoping GDSs will be able to flow hotel bookings directly into the APIS record.

APIS is not the only security-related complication to have been thrown in the way of visitors to the US recently. As of June 26, travelers with passports from visa-waiver countries have been obliged to present machine-readable passports to avoid having to obtain a visa. Obtaining a visa to enter the U.S. has also become a more cumbersome process during the past two years, with almost applicants having to be interviewed in person. The GTMC unofficially estimates that waiting time for a visa to the U.S. is around six weeks.

Another impending problem is the U.S. government's decision that it will soon accept only biometric passports. This was supposed to take effect in October but has been postponed by one year for a second time after it became clear almost no countries would be ready to produce biometric passports by that date.