Category: Halldale

By Rick Adams, FRAeS This year, for the first time in more than two decades, I will not be participating in the World Aviation Training Summit (WATS) in Orlando, Florida – an event which I chaired for multiple years. The reason? Onerous and intrusive US Government practices regarding social media for visitors from foreign countries. For those who may be unaware, I am a Swiss citizen. And somewhat vocal about American and world events. The MAGA-inspired border practices pose the very real threat that I would be denied entry into the US. It’s simply not worth the risk of being detained, harassed, and shipped back to my airport of origin. Or maybe to some other country, as has been the case with deported immigrants. Not to mention the cost of non-refundable transatlantic air tickets: about €1,800 or more. Under a December 2025 proposal by the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), travellers from Visa Waiver Program (VWP) countries – the ones considered ‘friendliest’ to the US, like Switzerland and other European nations, would need to provide: • Social media identifiers (user names and passwords) from the past 5 years • Telephone numbers used over the last 5 years • Email addresses used over the past 10 years • Names and addresses of family members Even though the DHS proposal is still technically ‘under review,’ and there has been considerable pushback, it could be implemented at any time. (A similar requirement for non-immigrant visa applicants such as fiancés of US citizens and cultural exchange participants took effect just last week.) Indeed, the practice of checking selected travellers’ phones, electronics and social media began unofficially more than a year ago. Noteworthy rejections that made headlines included a Norwegian tourist and a French scientist (enroute to a professional conference) who had content on…