Max. passport pages + Traveler’s Aid Int’l
This item appears on page 43 of the December 2015 issue.
I saw the item stating that travelers no longer will be able to get pages added to their US passports after Dec. 31, 2015 (Aug. ’15, pg. 58).
While serving as a volunteer for Travelers Aid International (www.travelersaid.org)* at Washington Dulles International Airport in 2012, I heard about a case in which Immigration agents in South Africa had refused to check in a passenger who didn’t have enough blank pages (six, I think) in his/her passport.**
Because of this, I suggest that travelers each opt for a passport with 52 pages rather than 28 when they apply, since the decision cannot be made later in the 10-year life of their passport.
DONNA H. SANDIN
Winchester, VA
*Funded by grants and donations, Travelers Aid International is a program designed to help travelers in transit in all sorts of ways, arranging meet-and-greets, assisting the mobility impaired and providing information on local transportation, accommodations and sites of interest. Services such as meet-and-greets and special assistance are free but must be booked ahead of time.
Travelers Aid International has desks at JFK Airport in New York; Newark International in New Jersey; Ronald Reagan International and Washington Dulles airports in Washington, D.C.; Chicago O’Hare, and Dallas/Ft. Worth International. Associate groups are located in airports across the US and in locations in Puerto Rico, Canada and Australia. To contact one of the 37 agencies in 21 states, visit www.travelersaid.org/directory
or try phoning an airport and asking for the number of the local Travelers Aid group. (Note: Not all groups associated with Travelers Aid International have “Travelers Aid” in their titles.)
**On the South Africa page of the US State Department’s website (http://travel.state.gov), under the heading “Entry, Exit & Visa Requirements,” it states, “All travelers should have at least two fully blank passport visa pages upon each arrival in South Africa, including following trips to neighboring countries.” (Endorsement pages do not count.) Keep in mind that on some Southern Africa trips, travelers may enter and exit South Africa several times.