THOUSANDS of air travellers with connecting flights in the United States will require an American visa even if they do not leave the airport, under a new measure to tackle terrorism.
The move, which was announced by the US Department of Homeland Security on Saturday with immediate effect, is designed to close a loophole that authorities feared could facilitate acts of terrorism. It follows US intelligence warnings that five-man al-Qaeda cells are plotting the first airline hijackings since the September 11 attacks and will be reviewed after 60 days.
More than 360,000 international travellers have to change aircraft on American soil every year, most of them at airports in New York, Miami, Houston, Los Angeles and Dallas.
Previously, such stopovers required no American visa, but now most passengers will need one before travelling.
British passengers will be unaffected, as will those from the 26 other countries that have visa-waiver programmes with the US.
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Tom Ridge, the Homeland Security Secretary, said that he wanted to see “more vigorous screening” of individuals and their baggage before they started their journeys. “We want to screen these people as far away from our airports and seaports as possible so that our borders are the last line of defence,” he said.