U.S. to pilot Internet travel authorisation scheme

By David Brunnstrom

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The United States will launch a pilot scheme on Friday which will require travellers covered by its visa waiver programme to get prior Internet authorisation before boarding flights to America.

U.S. officials outlining the Electronic System for Travel Authorisation (ESTA) denied it would amount to reintroduction of visas -- a concern voiced in the European Union -- even though fees might be charged for the process in future.

"The ESTA is not a visa," Jackie Bednarz, attache for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, told a news briefing in Brussels on Monday. "It's very different in our minds."

She said a two-month pilot programme for the system would be launched on Aug. 1. It will formally start on Oct. 1 and electronic authorisation will be a requirement for all citizens covered by the visa waiver programme from Jan. 12.

The system will require travellers to complete an online application form via the website esta.cbp.dhs.gov answering questions they must currently respond to on paper forms aboard flights or ships bound for the United States.

These include whether or not a passenger has a communicable disease, a physical or mental disorder, or abuses drugs, or has been convicted of certain criminal offences, or been involved in espionage, terrorism or genocide.

A spokesman for the European Commission, the executive body of the 27-nation European Union, said it would have to assess whether or not the programme was tantamount to a visa once the new regulations were formally published.

"We'll have to see how it works and exactly what the measures will be," Michele Cercone said.