US-bound travellers who don’t supply their airline or travel agent with details of where they will be staying on their first night in the US will soon be unable to fly.

From today, British Airways says passengers must give up this information before boarding or be barred from the flight. Virgin Atlantic introduced similar requirements on February 23, and other airlines and travel agents will soon follow suit.

The request for first night’s accommodation details is part of the Advanced Passenger Information (API) required by US Authorities for all travellers entering the country. API also obliges passengers to give passport information, including passport number, country of issue, expiry date, given names, last name, gender, date of birth and nationality.

A spokesman for BA told Times Online Travel that although the requirement for address details as part of API was introduced in October 2005 by the US Department of Homeland and Security, it has given airlines a “period of grace” while they develop computer systems capable of handling the passenger information. “This period of grace will shortly be over, so BA wants to prepare its passengers,” he said.

Passengers flying with BA or Virgin can provide the airlines with the information when checking in at the airport, but in a bid to reduce delays at check-in, both carriers are encouraging their customers to input the details online. A statement from BA, which flies 7,000 US-bound passengers from the UK each day, said: “The more data we can collect pre-airport via ba.com or the customer’s travel agency the better it will be. A few minutes on ba.com at home or in the office in the days leading up to your flight will help save you time and hassle at the airport”

API is submitted to US authorities within 15 minutes of a flight’s departure, and is checked against the databases of various federal agencies.

In addition to API, the cumbersome entry requirements for travellers wishing to visit the US necessitate Britons carry a machine-readable passport (one with a barcode on the photo page), but from October 31 2006, Britons who renew their passport after this date will need a biometric version in order to visit the US without a visa.

Biometric passports contain a chip that carries details of the passport holder’s biometrics, i.e. facial measurements, iris patterns or fingerprints. In order to meet with the US regulations, the UK Passport Service has developed new technology and issued the first biometric British passport this week.

While the technology “beds down” over the next six months, only a small percentage of British passports that are renewed will be biometric, but from the end of August, all passports will feature the chip.

To begin with, biometric British passports will contain facial data, gleaned from measurements taken from the holder’s passport photo, which explains the introduction over the past year of more stringent passport photo regulations. Over time, more facial data and fingerprint information will be added onto the chip, according to the UK Passport Service.

Externally the biometric passports look the same as the current version, but include the chip as well as pages with complex watermarks intended to make forgery more difficult. They also cost the same - £51, although this is expected to increase to around £58 at the end of the year. From 2008, the Government is proposing that Britons applying for a passport renewal will also have to get an identity card, adding a further £30 to the cost.

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