Travel industry pushing for delay in passport laws
Travel industry leaders urged the federal government Thursday to push back a federal deadline requiring all land, sea and air travelers to have a passport by January 2007.
Officials for the Travel Industry Association of America, a Washington lobbying arm, said they are concerned the fast-approaching deadline of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative will result in the loss of millions of tourism dollars because the traveling public has not been properly informed and educated about the changes, according to a report in Florida's Naples Daily News .
Cruise lines concerned about coming passport requirement
The Port of Galveston, which has seen explosive growth in the cruise-ship business, is now worried about a little-noticed federal requirement that people traveling by sea or air in the Western Hemisphere have a passport as soon as January.
The possibility of having to pay $100 for a passport instead of showing proof of citizenship for a short cruise to Mexico or the Caribbean that costs $500 could be a deal-breaker. "It becomes sort of cost-prohibitive for first-time cruisers," said Diane Falcioni, government-affairs manager for the port.
Four cruise lines sail from Galveston -- Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Princess and Celebrity -- with more than 600,000 passengers projected this year, up from 34,000 in 2000, according to the Texas-based Star-Telegram .
US proposes pushing passport requirement back 7 days
U.S. travellers would have a few extra days before they would need passports or other approved documentation when crossing U.S. ports of entry, under the long-awaited final proposed border security rules issued by the Dept. of Homeland Security and the State Dept.
Under the pending final rule for the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI), which is open to industry comment through Sept. 25, the departments have proposed pushing back the current Jan. 1, 2007 administrative start date to Jan. 8 in order to "better accommodate the holiday travel season," Travel Weekly reports (requires free registration).
WestJet to fly Caribbean
WestJet Airlines Ltd., which is increasingly looking to expand beyond Canada's borders, plans to dip its toes into the Caribbean this winter after receiving permission from Ottawa to fly to nearly a dozen countries in the region.
Calgary-based WestJet said yesterday, beginning Nov. 5, it plans to offer seasonal flights three days a week between Toronto and Nassau.
In addition to the Bahamas, the carrier has received designations from Transport Canada to fly to Aruba, Antigua, Barbuda, Bermuda the Cayman Islands, the Dominican Republic, Guadeloupe, Jamaica, Martinique and the Turks and Caicos Islands, although a WestJet spokeswoman said there are currently no plans to take advantage of the additional routes, The National Post reports .
easyJet pushes through extra charges following security alert
No-frills carrier easyJet is to start charging passengers for checking in more than one bag for their flight, following the introduction of new security measures limiting the size of hand baggage.
The change is being made to try to relieve pressure on check-in staff and would encourage people to travel light, the irline claimed in a press release .
Carry on with flight plans, ladies
New carry-on regulations have left female fliers in a cosmetics conundrum.
With common products banned, USA TODAY's Colleen Clark went in search of liquid-free alternatives, from foundation to face wash. A sampling .
A mere blip for business travel
Tighter airport security in the wake of a foiled bomb plot in Britain last week sent big-spending business travelers rushing to private jets in hopes of avoiding long delays and luggage restrictions.
But experts say the passenger migration from commercial airlines to private services will be short-lived as long as new government-imposed restrictions don't permanently impede the ability of travelers to work in airports and on planes, according to Reuters .
New Carnival Freedom to launch year round seven-day Caribbean cruises
Carnival Cruise Lines has announced that the 110,000-ton Carnival Freedom will operate year-round seven-day Caribbean cruises from the Port of Miami beginning in November 2007, becoming the newest "Fun Ship" to operate from that port.
Currently under construction at the Fincantieri shipyard in Maghera, Italy, the 2,974-passenger SuperLiner will launch alternating weeklong eastern and western Caribbean cruises from the Port of Miami beginning November 17, 2007, the cruise line stated in a press release .
Europe wide legislation on bags to be introduced
New European Union legislation is expected within the next few weeks to standardise hand baggage restrictions throughout Europe.
Although strict security procedures are in place at UK airports, this is not the case at many hubs on the Continent.
A mini-summit of EU justice ministers in London on Wednesday (16 August) discussed several proposals including the tightening of hand luggage checks in airports, the blocking of some websites, more exchange of information on air passengers and teaching of European values to Muslim preachers, the EU Observer is reporting .
