Boarding Pass

Dear Globetrotter:

Welcome to the 460th issue of your monthly foreign-travel magazine, the one largely written by its subscribers.

I’ve got a few things to cover this month.

According to Project Visa, a website whose purpose is to guide travelers on how to apply for entry visas to different countries, having an Israeli stamp in your passport can make it difficult, if not impossible, to visit Algeria, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. 

Travelers with Israeli-stamped passports report difficulties entering other countries, too, even though such treatment is not the official policy of those countries.

Before 2013, travelers to Israel could request that separate pieces of paper be stamped instead of their passports, but not every request was granted. 

In a pilot scheme begun in January 2013, however, Israel has been not stamping passports and, instead, has been providing separate entry cards, although officials reserve the right to stamp passports. 

Under this program, visitors are each provided a printed slip that acts as an entry stamp and includes their passport picture and personal information. It must be kept with the passport at all times. Once the traveler leaves Israel, the visa is easily removed, leaving no trace of the visit and thus not hindering the traveler’s entry into any other country.

Though there has been no official announcement from Israel about this change, the US Department of State recognizes that such a policy is in place. (Visit this page and click on “Entry, Exit & Visa Requirements.”)

Unfortunately, as travelers enter or exit Israel into Jordan and Egypt, officials in those countries continue to stamp passports. And stamps at these crossings, such as the Taba crossing in Egypt, are site specific, mentioning the crossing by name. Sharp-eyed officials in countries that deny entry to those who have visited Israel look for these stamps as evidence of visits to Israel and, upon coming across one, may respond accordingly.

If you have an Israeli stamp in your passport and are wondering if you might be subject to enhanced screening or questioning when entering a particular country, you can read of others’ experiences on online message boards such as those of the guidebook series Lonely Planet and the travel-review and booking site TripAdvisor.

However, eye with scrutiny any information and advice found on Internet message boards. One traveler’s experience may be unique, not the norm, and a writer describing a certain experience or opinion may not be revealing pertinent facts or events. As always, additional comparisons in other media and further research are advised.

Travelers also may contact a country’s foreign consulate in the US, which, to a certain extent, will advise travelers on what they might expect when trying to take a passport into that country with an Israeli stamp.

On a lighter note, the winner of the award for World’s Best Airport was announced in March by Skytrax, an independent consulting company that works with airports and airlines to improve customer service. In 2014, the winner, for the second year in a row, was Changi Airport Singapore (SIN).

To arrive at the ratings in its annual World Airport Awards, Skytrax used surveys filled out by 12.85 million flyers traveling through 410 airports in cities around the world. 

The surveys asked people to rate each airport on 39 “product and service factors,” including ease of transit between flights; baggage delivery times; Internet facilities and WiFi availability; standards of access and facilities for the disabled, etc. The airport with the highest overall rating was deemed the world’s best.

Along with Changi, the top 10 best airports included Incheon International (ICN) near Seoul, South Korea, at number two, followed by Munich Airport (MUC), Hong Kong International (HKG), Amsterdam Schiphol (AMS), Tokyo International/Haneda (HND), Beijing Capital International (PEK), Zürich Airport (ZRH), Vancouver International (YVR), the only North American airport on the list, and, at number 10, London’s Heathrow Airport (LHR).

Those were the results among ALL international airports. Of the world’s busiest airports, the ones the greatest percentage of travelers used, what were the top 10 “best” airports? 

Of the airports that saw 50 million or more passengers last year, the ones voted to be the best ranked as follows.

Topping the list was Changi, the world’s 13th-busiest airport, having serviced 53.7 million passengers in 2013. It was trailed by Hong Kong Int’l (59.6 million passengers), Amsterdam Schiphol (52.6 million), Tokyo Int’l/Haneda (68.9 million), Beijing Capital (83.7 million), London Heathrow (72.3 million), Frankfurt Airport (FRA, 58 million), Dubai Int’l (DXB, 66.4 million), Denver Int’l (DEN, 52.6 million) and Istanbul’s Atatürk Int’l (IST, 51.1). 

The world’s busiest airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International (ATL) in Georgia, which serviced over 94 million (domestic and international) flyers in 2013, didn’t even make Skytrax’s top 100. Neither did Los Angeles Int’l (LAX), the world’s sixth-busiest airport. Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Int’l (CDG), the eighth-busiest, also didn’t make the cut.

To read the complete survey results, visit www.worldairportawards.com. To vote on your airport experiences for the next tally, go to www.worldairportsurvey.com; voting will reopen in August 2014. And if you wish to vote on airlines, visit www.worldairlinesurvey.com; voting will reopen in July.

Kenneth G. Crosby, Ed.D., F.A.P.A., of San Antonio Tlayacapan, Jalisco, Mexico, wrote regarding my editor’s note that followed the article on Cuba in Randy Keck’s January 2014 “Far Horizons” column.

Regarding the US embargo against Cuba, the editor’s note stated, in part, “When Fidel Castro seized power in Cuba in 1959, he took over US companies… . The US Department of State has told Cuba on many occasions that if they would pay for the seized properties, the embargo would end. The response has always been negative. The State Department has not asked for any interest to be paid nor for the value of the seized properties in today’s dollars but just for what it was worth in 1959, which comes to about five million dollars. Food, medicine and agricultural implements are exempted from the US embargo.”

Dr. Crosby wrote, “The US Department of State has nothing whatever to do with enforcing or removing the US embargo of Cuba. The current embargo was enacted in 1996 by the US Congress as the Helms-Burton Act, and it can be ended only by action of the Congress.”

Dr. Crosby pointed out, “Payment for the property of US companies seized by the Cuban government is only one of the conditions that must be met for the embargo to end. For example, the Helms-Burton Act specifies that the US may not recognize the government of Cuba so long as Fidel or Raúl Castro are members of it.”

Regarding the reparations, a delving into the Helms-Burton Act reveals, in section 302 (a), that the reimbursement shall be at “… the fair market value of that property, calculated as being either the current value of the property, or the value of the property when confiscated plus interest, whichever is greater… .” Clearly, this amount would total billions, not millions.

Dr. Crosby noted that the statement “food, medicine and agricultural implements are exempted from the US embargo” is not correct because these items are not entirely exempt. 

Many items are allowed as donations to individuals or nongovernmental organizations in Cuba. According to the US Postal Service (which does not set the rules), among the types of gifts or humanitarian donations that are eligible are food, medicine, machinery suited to small-scale farming operations, agricultural research and testing equipment, small-scale irrigation equipment, modems, cellular phones, and radio and television receivers. 

The sale of food, medicine and agriculture-related items is heavily restricted, requiring a license from the Department of Commerce, one which may or may not be granted.

Of course, any gift or donation must be received by the beneficiary free of charge, and, again, many restrictions apply. For example, only one parcel may be mailed by someone to the same recipient each month, and the value of a shipment may not exceed $400. This limits what can be sent, even if it’s medical supplies.

In this issue, we’re printing an updated Travel Clubs Bulletin Board, a partial listing of clubs in, for the most part, the US. The descriptions of these clubs and their activities and philosophies are posted on our website, www.intltravelnews.com (click on “Resources”).

We would like to expand the listing, so if you’re in a travel club not shown, send us a description to be printed in the magazine and posted online. And if you, like others have done, would like to get a club started in the area where you live, send us a notice and we’ll get the word out.

In writing to club organizers about updating their listings, we were told by Gordon Peterson of Dallas, Texas, “You might want to contact folks at Hostelling International, which has a very active international travel club that also meets here in the north Dallas area (and numerous other related local clubs in cities nationwide). I would think that their members would also be a great fit for your publication (both as subscribers and as contributors), and I’ve mentioned ITN to several of the presenters at their meetings here.”

We followed Gordon’s advice, and a few HI-USA clubs are on the list (each using “Meetup.com”).

The cutoff date for entering our contest “Where Were You in 2013?” is May 26. ITN subscribers are eligible. Write up a list of all of the countries you visited at any time during 2013 and email it to editor@intltravelnews.com or mail a postcard or letter to Where Were You in 2013?, c/o ITN, 2116 28th St., Sacramento, CA 95818. Include your mailing address (where you receive ITN). Prizes will be awarded in a random drawing, with winners and the poll results announced in the July issue.

There remain several countries that no ITN subscriber has yet reported having visited last year. If you’ve been to any of these places, send in your list: (in Africa) Algeria, Burundi, Central African Republic, Comoros, Côte d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Mauritius, Seychelles or South Sudan; (in Asia/Mideast) Afghanistan, Lebanon, Pakistan, Timor-Leste, Saudi Arabia, Syria or Yemen; (in Oceania), Nauru, Palau or Tuvalu, or (in South America) Venezuela.

Father’s Day falls in June, and a great gift for Dad would be a subscription to ITN! Visit our website and click on “Subscribe” or call, toll-free, 800/486-4968. A gift card can be sent in your name.

Can you be sure he’ll like it?

Mr. and Mrs. Kevin Edwards of Albuquerque, New Mexico, wrote, “We love ITN. This news magazine is the only one we save, and we read each issue cover to cover.”

Bernard Sonnek of Easton, Minnesota, wrote, “We have kept your magazine for several years, so we are able to read what other travelers have to say about their destinations and determine if any are destinations for us. We also pass along articles to friends. We have placed queries in the ‘Person to Person’ section, and the responses we received have been very informative. ITN is a must for adventurous travelers.”

Harry Windland of Glen Carbon, Illinois, wrote, “ITN is the most anticipated of all the periodicals I subscribe to. Thanks to you and the ITN staff for publishing such a useful and interesting magazine.”

If your Dad, stepdad, godfather or anyone who has been like a father to you loves to travel overseas, take a moment to introduce him to ITN.    — DT