05/08/2003

• World Wide

BY DOREEN HEMLOCK AND TANYA WEINBERG /FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - (KRT)

Airlines scurried Monday to inform thousands of passengers flying through the United States to other countries that they will need U.S. visas starting Tuesday, sending e-mails, posting notices at airport counters and offering refunds to those clients who won't be able to travel.

At issue is a U.S. Department of Homeland Security directive issued Saturday that suspends two programs - Transit Without Visa and International-to-International - that allowed foreigners to make connections at U.S. airports without a U.S. visa. About 615,000 travelers used the programs last year, most from Latin America.

Authorities suspended the programs for an initial 60 days after recent intelligence reports suggested potential terrorist threats at U.S. airports in the East Coast.

By itself, the new rule will have a limited impact yet to be quantified, aviation executives said Monday.

The measure won't affect citizens of 27 countries, mostly rich nations in Europe, who don't need a visa to enter the United States anyway. Nor does it affect those travelers from developing nations who already have U.S. visas, including many top executives from South and Central America who frequent the United States on business.

But it could stop tens of thousands of travelers a year from traveling through Miami International Airport, mainly Latin Americans who would could not qualify for a U.S. visa or don't want to endure weeks or months waiting for visa approvals. They could re-route their in-transit business instead to Panama, Mexico, Canada or other nations.

The rule adds to a host of security directives issued after Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks that together have dealt a serious blow to international business in the United States and threaten to undermine future business.

For example, starting last Friday, most applicants for U.S. visas must now appear for personal interviews at U.S. consulates overseas, a requirement that could add "a few weeks" to the time it already takes to apply for a visa, said a spokesman for the U.S. State Department's consular bureau.

"We may well win the war against terrorism but at the expense of strangling our economy," said John P. Bauer, president of food importer-exporter Basic Foods International of Fort Lauderdale and honorary consul of Guatemala in an e-mail Monday.

Security and visa problems have contributed, for instance, to a more than 12 percent drop in international passengers since 2000 at Miami International, one of the largest airports nationwide for international traffic. Miami handled nearly 2 million fewer international passengers last year than it did in 2000.

Headaches at Spain's Iberia Airlines illustrate the nagging and growing problems.

Last year, Iberia considered moving its hub from Miami after changes in U.S. security procedures forced delays of up to four hours for passengers switching between international flights. Gov. Jeb Bush intervened to save Florida jobs and Iberia traffic, persuading federal authorities to streamline in-transit procedures in Miami.

On Monday, the carrier scrambled to contact passengers - especially in Central America - about Saturday's new rule on U.S. connecting flights, suggesting alternate routes through Mexico and other nations.

And more rules are coming.

"Our big concern is that come Oct. 1, new rules say Europeans will need a U.S. visa unless they have a machine-readable passport," Iberia spokeswoman Margarita Blanco said from Madrid.

Spain and other nations are now working to issue the new high-tech documents, but it's unclear they'll all be ready in time to meet the needs of millions who visit the United States each year, European officials have said.

Amid the scramble, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said it will seek alternatives over the next 60 days to reinstate the two suspended in-transit programs which already have seen usage drop sharply since Sept. 11, 2001.

Authorities said 381,065 travelers used the Transit Without Visa and 233,454 used the International-to-International programs last fiscal year. That's down by more than half from a total 1.6 million passengers a year earlier, before the International-to-International plan was temporarily halted and re-instated.

American Airlines, which dominates traffic at Miami International, handled the most passengers under the Transit Without Visa program: roughly 93,000, or one-fourth of the total.

Los Angeles International and Miami International ranked as tops among airports using the program, each with roughly 79,000 passengers last year. And Latin America was the region benefiting most, with roughly 89,000 from Brazil and 69,000 from Mexico. Brazilians mainly use Miami as their hub; Mexicans tend to transit through Texas.

American Airlines said Monday it will give refunds to all ticketed passengers who won't be able to travel because of the new suspensions.

Those travelers caught by surprise by the new rule should be able to get expedited appointments for visa interviews at U.S. consular offices, the State Department said. But those planning future trips with U.S. transfers can't bypass the waits, which already can take months in some countries.

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