The National Business Travel Association (NBTA), applauded the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) announcement to expand the Global Entry pilot program to an additional 13 U.S. international airports. The Global Entry program provides low-risk, pre-approved travelers expedited entry into the U.S. Program participants bypass regular passport control and proceed directly to Global Entry Kiosks, where their identity is confirmed using biometrics.
New airports include Boston, Dallas, Detroit, Ft. Lauderdale, Honolulu, Las Vegas, Newark, Orlando, Philadelphia, Sanford (Orlando), San Francisco, San Juan, and Seattle. Combined with the seven airports already operating Global Entry, the full list includes the nation’s top 20 international arrival airports.
“NBTA congratulates the Department of Homeland Security for the continued growth of the Global Entry Program," said Kevin Maguire, NBTA president and CEO. "The expansion to the top 20 U.S. international airports will give frequent business travelers a quick and secure means to enter the U.S., ultimately helping to promote the flow of international commerce. We thank U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for their dedication to the program and look forward to further expansion to accommodate the future growth of international travel.”
DHS and CBP launched the program in June 2008 at New York’s John F. Kennedy, Bush Intercontinental in Houston and Washington Dulles. Shortly thereafter, the program quickly expanded to four additional airports: Los Angeles, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta, Chicago O’Hare and Miami. Since the program’s inception, NBTA’s members have found Global Entry to be a major boost to their travelers’ productivity.
NBTA members, numbering more than 4,000 in 30 nations, are corporate and government travel and meetings managers, as well as travel service providers. They collectively manage and direct more than US$200 billion of global business travel and meetings expenditures annually on behalf of more than 10 million business travelers within their organizations.
Visit www.nbta.org.