Changes to the Visa Waiver Program to Implement the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) Program

IATA and its Member Airlines encourage all governments to apply technological solutions that can result in direct benefits to the traveling public, particularly where costs can be outweighed by quantifiable benefit. IATA supports the introduction of an electronic process for visa waiver application in general terms. This is a positive step forward in terms of automation, particularly if the program can be incorporated seamlessly into other existing passenger data schemes, such as AQQ, Secure Flight, Global Entry and PNR Access. Additionally, IATA welcomes the elimination of the I94W forms, which are manual and duplicative in nature as they provide largely the same data as API, at a time later than the API data itself is delivered. However, with respect to implementation of the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) as currently envisaged in the Interim Final Rule (IFR), we, and our members in the air transport industry, believe that the program in its current form has not been well thought through; systems will not be fully developed, adequate facilities will not be in place and the program has been rushed in implementation. In particular, we remain concerned about the following key issues: 1.The IFR fails to address the issue of how to respond to passengers who have not established an ESTA prior to initiating travel to the U.S., or whose ESTA might have been cancelled or have expired. 2.Absent an effective mechanism that addresses the need for government-supported day-of-departure applications at airports outside of the U.S., including smaller regional airports feeding into the primary transfer hub locations, IATA anticipates that full implementation of this proposal will result in thousands of visitors being prevented from traveling each month. 3.Infrastructure (public internet access, etc) at most, if not all, international airports is insufficient (if not non-existent) to respond to a significant number of individuals at any single airport who are attempting to travel without having previously filed for and obtained an ESTA. 4.Detailed technical information relating to ESTA and its requirements was published in the revised US Consolidated Users Guide only in late July. The industry has insufficient time to develop and implement changes in the specified time frames. 5.ESTA will require all carriers serving the U.S. market to develop an automated capability within Departure Control Systems necessary to receive and understand the ESTA status indicator relating to each passenger, at a time when programming resources are fully allocated to responding to additional U.S. and other governments' mandates. 6.ESTA seriously disrupts carrier efforts to develop systems necessary to implement CBP's Pre-Departure Passenger Manifest (AQQ) functionality. 7.The industry is not in the position to fund and develop additional DCS- based interfaces that would be needed to submit requests for ESTA establishment on behalf of their customers, nor can it provide internet-access at airport facilities. Airlines are today facing the challenge of remaining viable business entities in a market that has seen a tripling of oil prices since 2006 and a two-fold increase in the last year alone. The introduction of yet another US Government program requiring significant IT development, and investment in additional infrastructure and staff cannot be justified at this time. The program should therefore be withdrawn and re-designed within a more realistic timeframe to enable a rework of requirements, integration with current passenger data requirements, and provision of adequate facilities at international airports to cope with the demand for ESTA application.

Comments of the Air Transport Association of America