This bulletin was sent out from a large travel wholesaler to all agencies that they serve. FYI, Mark Travel's owners also ran Sun Country Airlines and represent several large US tour companies like United [Airlines] Vacations.

New U.S. security laws governing international air travel require electronic transmission of certain passenger data to U.S. Customs & Immigration.

API must be provided prior to the aircraft departing from and arriving to the United States.

This federal mandate applies to travel January 1, 2003 and beyond regardless of when reservations were made.


Required API for both US and non US citizens includes:

Full given passenger name (first, middle, last) as appears on birth certificate or passport
Date of birth
Gender
Address
Citizenship
Country of residence
Document type (i.e.: drivers license, birth certificate, passport)
Passport number (if traveling with a passport)
Passport expiration date
Passport issuance date
Country issuing document

Providing the U.S. government with API contributes toward the successful enforcement of immigration laws, ensuring aviation security & protecting national security. You can review this new security requirement in it’s entirety by accessing the Aviation Transportation & Security Act and or The Enhanced Border Security & Visa Entry Reform Act. Consciously providing inaccurate API may result in monetary fines and legal action.

Failure to comply with this government requirement will result in obstruction and or significant delays to your customer’s travel plans. No compensation will be issued for interruption of travel or denied boarding.
Gathering API during airport check-in would lengthen the amount of time required for check-in and in-effect negatively impact our mutual customers. It is for this reason that you may enter mandatory API on VAX VacationAccess.

Effective Wednesday, November 20th, all Mark Travel Corporation international charters will gather API at time of booking. Doing so will result in your client’s experiencing a smooth hassle free airport check-in. API will be pre-collected on individual bookings as well as group bookings.

You control whether or not your customers start their vacation off on a positive note - be sure and provide API at time of booking. When securing travel arrangements with one of our call center agents simply provide them with API specifics.

When using VAX VacationAccess, a user-friendly API screen will display for easy entry of information.

...
Look for our next communication regarding API to be issued by December 1, 2002. We will continue to provide you with valuable information about Advanced Passenger Information.


[This message has been edited by thefareguru (edited 11-24-2002).]