13 January 2009
DUBAI - Travel agencies operating flights and tours to the US have been caught by surprise and are struggling to get the official confirmation of the newly-enacted US legislation requiring travellers, who were previously allowed to enter that country without visas, to secure online security approval 72 hours before travelling. The Visa Waiver Program allows citizens of 34 countries to travel to the US without obtaining a visa. However, the Electronic System for Travel Authorisation (ESTA), an automated online system used to determine the eligibility of the visitors under the VWP, came into effect on Monday.

Most travel agencies said they were not informed in advance, but said they are less worried because this requirement is the responsibility of ?passengers.

Iain Andrew, divisional senior vice-president of Dnata Travel Services, said, "It is always a passenger's responsibility to check that they have all the necessary documents before travelling. We would urge our customers to ensure that they are complying with all current legislation before presenting themselves at the airport for a flight."

Travel agencies with offices at the Terminal 1 of the Dubai International AirportDubai International Airport said none of the passengers bound for the US came to complain.

Kulwant Singh, managing partner of Lama Desert Tours and Cruises, told Khaleej Times he has obtained a copy of the fact sheet of the US Department of Homeland Authority (DHS) on Sunday afternoon. Earlier on Sunday, he had told Khaleej Times that he was not aware of it.

The DHS is in charge of implementing ESTA or online security requirement. Once approved, the fact sheet said, it is valid for travel until holder's passport expires. Without it, the passengers could be prevented from boarding airlines.

He, however, said that their clients are not affected by the new policy because for the past few weeks, no bookings for USA had been done.

Mohammed Al Rais, deputy general manager of Al Rais TravelAl Rais Travel, said he has not received any official document from the US Embassy or from anyone. "We have lots of clients bound for the US, but we just issued them air tickets.

"They took care of the visa requirements, including, of course, this new online security policy," he said.

Efforts to get the reactions from the airlines failed as most of them promised to respond before the newspaper went to the press but none reached us in time.

Required to obtain this online security clearance before travelling are citizens of Andora, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei Darussalam, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxemburg, Monaco, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

Seven other countries were added to the VWP on November 17, 2008. Travellers from those countries -- Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and South Korea -- have been required to use ESTA since then.

By Lily B. Libo-on

© Khaleej Times 2009