BA and Virgin caution passengers to complete formalities or risk failing to fly

Airport news for Flights,Travel on 08/03/2010.

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The controversial anti-terrorist travel restriction imposed on Britons flying to the US has resulted for many people failing to board their flights since the new security rule was implemented six weeks ago.

The Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) obliges every Briton travelling without a visa to fill up the online application form three days before leaving for the US. But major UK airlines flying to the US, including Virgin Atlantic and British Airways (BA), report that several passengers are still showing up in major UK airports without their completed online form.

A senior manager of BA warned that those passengers who failed to submit the application will run the possibility of not travelling. Airline staff may be able to assist in filling up the form at the air terminal, but passengers may not get the authorization back from the US Department of Homeland Security before their departure.

A Virgin Atlantic spokesman informed that the airline encounters a dozen of this kind of problem every day. Many travellers are still unaware that submitting the form online is a pre-requisite process rather than voluntary.

The application process is currently free of charge, but the US will soon be charging up to £11.24 per person – adding about £60 to the cost of travel for a family of five flying to the US. In the online form, passengers will have to provide the authorities their passport details, including name and address. Moreover, travellers are obliged to reveal whether they had previously acquired any sexually transmitted disease, including gonorrhoea and syphilis.

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