The Advantage Travel Partnership released a statement in light of the recent suspension of the United States’ Global Entry programme.
Advantage’s managing director for global business travel Andrea Caulfield-Smith declared: “Following the news that the Department of Homeland Security plans to suspend the Global Entry programme, it is vital that those travelling to the United States for business are aware of how this may affect their upcoming travel plans, and the negative financial implications it could have.
“The Global Entry system makes overseas travel significantly quicker and easier, and without this, travellers will feel the impact on speed, ease and efficiency, as wait times increase.
Travellers will need to incorporate extra time into their travels due to the risk of queues and longer security checks.
“Furthermore, existing meetings planned around arrivals previously expedited by Global Entry may need to be rescheduled to accommodate potential delays and those who have already applied via the Global Entry system may need to review or update their travel documents to accommodate these changes.”
What’s going on?
On Sunday, 22nd February, the United States’ Department of Homeland Security announced that the Global Entry programme and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA)’s Pre-Check programme would be suspended while the partial government shutdown is ongoing.
In a statement, the agency said: “As staffing constraints arise, TSA will evaluate on a case-by-case basis and adjust operations accordingly.”
The aforementioned partial shutdown began on 14th February when Democrats and the White House failed to reach a deal regarding the funding of the DHS, particularly in light of the changes demanded of its immigration operations.
