Travelling to and from America has become a waiting game
Travellers on a flight to Spain last month found themselves in a stinky situation. An ailing passenger had trailed diarrhoea down the aisle, forcing the plane to return to Atlanta. For those flying into or out of America these days, poop is not the only hazard they may face.
International air travel has soared since the covid-19 pandemic. This has created a jam at airports, with long queues in immigration halls. According to Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the agency charged with patrolling America’s borders, at airports as well as land frontiers, some passengers have waited for over two hours this month to enter the country. Those who make it past immigration may then find overflowing security queues for connections. Twice this year your correspondent has had to sprint through Miami airport to make her domestic flights.
Technology (including increasing use of biometric data) can help speed things up. And for those willing to pay, signing up to Global Entry is an option. It allows pre-cleared passengers to sail smugly past the long lines. However, even that avenue is clogged up: those applying now should prepare to wait nearly a year for approval.
2023-10-05 07:47:55
Post from www.economist.com
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