TRAVELLERS to the USA are being warned that they face delays passing through immigration from next month, as the country introduces stricter security measures.
From September 30, all Britons on the visa-waiver scheme must have their fingerprint scanned and photograph taken at passport control at their point of entry. The Department of Homeland Security says the procedure should add only about 15 seconds per person, but British operators are concerned that border-control officers will
not have sufficient machines installed by the deadline to ensure the system’s smooth introduction.
Is Nepal off the map?
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The new Foreign Office policy on travel advisories was tested this week with heightened tensions in Nepal. On Monday, Maoist guerrillas threw bombs into the grounds of a hotel in Kathmandu. Rebels have also set up a blockade of the city, stopping vehicles from going in or out.
Nepal is on the list of countries to which western governments advise against travel, but as yet it is not on the UK’s danger list. There is speculation that this is because of the foreign secretary’s review of travel advice in June, when he announced a policy of avoiding blanket bans if possible, issuing advice against nonessential travel only in situations of “extreme and imminent” danger.
The ambiguity is causing problems for operators over whether to continue sending trekkers to Nepal. Martin Crabbe of Guerba says the firm is in a “tricky position”. Where there was a simple rule — when a country went on the FO danger list, it came out of brochures — there is now a grey area. Guerba will still take bookings, but is monitoring the situation.