The EU, seeking ways to better protect its external borders, proposed a system that would require foreigners entering the bloc without a visa to seek pre-authorization before traveling. The system, modelled on US practice, would take years to set up, like many policies adopted after a series of recently terror attacks in France, Belgium and Germany. The EC said that by setting up the European Travel and Information Authorization System (ETIAS), the bloc would be better placed to keep at bay terror suspects, criminals and people with contagious diseases. The system would apply to people from countries whose citizens are exempt from visa-entry requirements, including in the US, Asia, the Balkans, Middle East and Latin America. It would also apply to British citizens, once the UK leaves the EU, assuming a visa-exemption arrangement has been agreed. The system isn't expected to become operational before 2020, pending approval by national governments and the European Parliament and after linking up several security databases across the continent. “It is technically terribly complicated,” EC VP Frans Timmermans said. The “absolute highest level of data protection” needed to be ensured, as the system would gather data on tens of millions of travellers every year, Timmermans said. Under the proposal, people from the more than 50 countries who don’t need a visa to come to Europe would register online with their passport data, pay a E5 fee and receive the ETIAS pre-authorization for as long as their passport is valid. The commission estimates that only up to 5% of all travellers would be rejected for reasons ranging from security risks to health hazards.<br/>
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The outlook for business travel over the next year remains subdued and airfares will remain broadly static according to a new report. The forecast by American Express Global Business Travel (GBT) said the geopolitical landscape and increased security concerns are causing global economic uncertainty. The slowing Chinese economy, the UK’s vote to leave the European Union and security concerns in many countries have contributed to the uncertainty, the report says. In the United States, airline overcapacity and strong competition between low cost and legacy carriers are creating a lower fare environment with US short-haul ticket prices forecast to fall 3% and long-haul by 1.5% in 2017. The forecast for Canada is a 3.8% drop for short-haul and 3% for long-haul. In Europe, muted economic performance, security concerns, pressure from Gulf carriers, and the continuing rise of low-cost carriers are contributing to the headwinds, GBT says. The UK’s Brexit vote has had the effect of making outbound travel from Britain more expensive, dampening demand. The effect on UK airfares in 2017 is forecast to be a 2% drop in short-haul, and 3% for long-haul. Airfares will stay flat across much of Asia-Pacific, with small increases depending on route and fare class, according to the report.<br/>
Europe's Airbus Group said it will announce a "significant order" from a Japanese airline on Friday at a press conference hosted by its CEO Fabrice Bregier. The briefing on Friday will be at 0100 GMT, the European company said in an e-mailed invitation. The company did not give any further detail of the deal. A spokeswoman for Japan's biggest carrier, ANA Holdings, said the airline did not currently have any plans to hold a press conference on Friday. A spokesman for the nation's No.2 carrier, Japan Airlines, also said no briefing was planned. Airbus, which in January announced a deal to sell three A380 super jumbos to ANA, has long lagged its competitor Boeing in Japan, with the latter benefiting from strong ties to local aerospace companies such as Mitsubishi Heavy Industries that build significant portions of its jetliners. <br/>
Workers at Reagan National Airport staged a “sleep-in” Tuesday night to protest low wages as part of their ongoing campaign to pressure the authority that oversees the facility. Flights and operations at the airport were not disrupted. According to a statement from 32BJ Service Employees International Union, which represents many of the workers, roughly 100 workers have contracts at Dulles International and Reagan National airports but “can’t afford rent or transportation to and from work.” The union also said other workers “lack the time to go home between shifts and other jobs,” the statement said. The union is pushing for $15 an hour pay for contracted service workers; some workers now make as little as $6.75 an hour. Their jobs range from wheelchair attendants to baggage carriers and cleaners for terminals and planes. About 15 people participated in the “sleep-in” Tuesday night, and another 15 were expected to join them Wednesday morning at a board meeting of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, which oversees Dulles and Reagan National airports.<br/>