Exempt from providing the additional information are the following groups:

v      Citizens of the US

v      Passengers holding a valid residence permit (Green Card)

v      Passengers with an onward flight outside the US within 8 hours of arrival

 

Since the new guidelines do not impact US citizens, there is really nothing they need to specifically do.  The biggest impact will be in the short and medium-term as airlines deal with the implementation of the program at the airport. Please warn your travelers that check-in lines for flights returning to the US will likely be longer and slower-moving. This will likely be the case for several months until carriers work out electronic means of obtaining the information in advance of the passengers’ arrivals at the airport. Additionally, the GDSs are planning to implement a means to provide this data to the carriers.  One carrier has estimated the 2^nd quarter of 2006 as the probable implementation of this system.