Effective Jan. 31, 2008, U.S. and Canadian citizens (19 and older) will be required to present proof of citizenship, such as 1) a passport or 2) a birth certificate or naturalization certificate supported by a government issued photo ID, when entering the United States through land and sea ports of entry from Canada. Children ages 18 and under are only required to present proof of citizenship (without ID), such as a birth certificate, naturalization certificate or passport. If a birth certificate is presented, it must be a certified birth certificate issued by the city, county or state. A photocopy of a birth certificate will only be accepted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) if the original has been sent to the Department of State in support of a passport application. In such case, the traveler must obtain and provide proof of passport application. These changes are significant as compared to the current and long-standing policy that allows CBP officers to accept oral declarations of citizenship from U.S. and Canadian citizens seeking entry into the United States through a land or sea border. Effective Jan. 31, 2008, oral declarations will not be accepted.

People traveling by land or sea to Canada need to take either a valid passport or a government issued birth certificate and photo ID beginning Jan. 31, 2008. All travelers by air should be reminded to bring a passport. The passport requirement for air travelers entering the U.S. from Canada has been on the books since Jan. 8, 2007. Please note that travelers holding NEXUS, SENTRI and FAST cards will continue to be accepted for cross-border travel.

Please check with us as this remains subject to frequent and intense governmental review and, oh yes, manipulation.......

Congress delays new passport rule until June 2009
A little-noticed provision in the gigantic omnibus spending bill passed by Congress on December 20th will affect millions of travelers next year.

It pushes back the deadline to require passports at land borders from June 2008 to June 1, 2009. It means travelers driving between Detroit and Canada would not need to have a passport or its equivalent next year.

The president is expected to sign the omnibus bill.

"This issue is important to Michigan," Dave Pollock, spokesman for Michigan Sen. Carl Levin, said.

Members of Congress in border states like Michigan have fought for a delay, concerned about a repeat of last summer's passport processing problems that overwhelmed the system.

However, the Department of Homeland Security has argued that it needs to phase in the new rules for security reasons in 2008.

"There is no ambiguity about the need to correct a major security vulnerability," said DHS spokeswoman Amy Kudwa.

U.S. Rep. Louise Slaughter of New York's Niagara-Buffalo region inserted the provision in the budget bill. Her spokesman said their office would fight any attempt by DHS to proceed with the new rule in 2008.

"From the beginning of the republic, when a law is passed by Congress and signed by the president, that is the law of the land," said Slaughter's spokesman Frank Benenati

Northwest Airlines will begin daily, nonstop service to London’s Heathrow Airport from Detroit, Minneapolis/St. Paul and Seattle next spring.

The Minneapolis service will begin March 29, the Detroit service May 1 and the Seattle service June 1. Northwest will continue to offer daily service from Detroit to London Gatwick.

Northwest becomes the fourth U.S. carrier to firm up its entry as a new competitor in the Heathrow market. US Airways will begin service from Philadelphia, Continental from Houston and Newark, and Delta from New York and Atlanta -- all on March 29.

The entry of new U.S. airlines into the Heathrow market is possible because of the U.S.-European Union open-skies deal, part of which lifts restrictions that currently limit U.S.-Heathrow service to United, American, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic.

Northwest and KLM will co-locate the airline’s facilities in Terminal 4 at London Heathrow International Airport (LHR), providing more convenience and easier connections for the nearly 3.5 million SkyTeam Alliance passengers who travel through LHR each year.

The daily Detroit departure will leave for Heathrow at 5:50 p.m. and arrive in London at 7:30 a.m. the following day. The return flight will leave Heathrow at 8:50 a.m. daily and arrive at Detroit Metro at 12:30 p.m. Northwest will use its new Airbus A330 on the flights, officials said.

"Finally some fairness for our most experienced pilots," said Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.), ranking member on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and cosponsor of the legislation, after President Bush signed the bill into law. "With enactment of this law, we've changed a half-century-old age discrimination rule that has left skilled veteran pilots at a disadvantage to international competitors.

Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport was ranked third, with 686,711 flights in 2007, down 2.3 percent from 702,722 flights in 2006, the FAA said.

Heimlich also noted that airlines have moved aggressively to redeploy their aircraft -- primarily for a shift to more profitable international routes, but also to some extent domestically -- as well as to trim unprofitable flying and adjust aircraft utilization.

ALASKA BOUND is a division of Passageways, and the largest retailer of Alaska outside Alaska itself.
Visit them at www.alsakabound.com.

Also included: a special welcome dinner in a lively Roman restaurant, stops in Pisa to admire the Leaning Tower and stops in Verona to see Juliet’s balcony.
Scenic rides will show you the Tyrrhenian coast, the Lombardian plains, the flat Po area, the wooded Etruscan Apennine mountain range, and Tuscany’s Chianti wine country.
In Venice a private boat ride and a glassblowers’ demonstration are included.

Priced at $1750.00 per person.
Call your local Passageways Travel office or go to passagewaystravel.com.