El Salvador has just implemented the world’s most expensive airport tariff under the guise of improving the airport, but it only applies to some passengers (thanks to Alex for flagging this).
In this post:
El Salvador’s new “airport improvement tariff”
As of October 23, 2023, El Salvador International Airport (SAL) has a new “airport improvement tariff” for passengers. This was implemented by the Autonomous Port Executive Commission (CEPA), which manages the airport. As the government describes this, President Nayib Bukele is working hard on modernizing the country’s main airport, “in order to provide a first-class service to all users.”
This is hardly the first time we’ve seen an airport add a fee for passengers to fund improvements. So, how much is the fee? A few dollars per passenger? Nope…
The new tariff is $1,000 per passenger, plus a 13% tax, for a total of $1,130 per passenger. That’s not a typo. $1,130. And yes, we’re talking USD. And yes, there’s a tax on… the tax?
Oh, there’s one other important detail. You only have to pay this fee if you’re a national of one of 57 countries, including every country in Africa, plus India. It’s the responsibility of the airline to collect this tariff prior to boarding a flight to El Salvador, and it even applies retroactively if you booked your ticket prior to this new fee being announced.
What’s the motive for El Salvador’s new airport fee?
It’s pretty clear what’s going on here. This new airport fee is a way for El Salvador to discourage travelers from Africa and India from trying to travel to El Salvador. The country is trying to spin this as something that’s intended to help fund airport improvements, but if that were the case, the country would just charge each airline passenger a small tax, rather than taxing a tiny percentage of passengers an unreasonably large amount.
Now, the exact motive for why El Salvador wants to prevent travelers from these countries from traveling through El Salvador is something I can’t say with certainty. Is El Salvador seeing a lot of people traveling from Africa and India and then staying in El Salvador?
Or does this have something to do with people traveling from Africa and India to the United States via El Salvador? Many migrants enter the United States via Central America, and Brian Nicholas, the United States’ Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs, did recently meet with El Salvador’s President.
Bottom line
El Salvador is adding an “airport improvement tariff,” intended to help fund modernization of the country’s international airport. That’s the only part of this story that’s normal, though. The tariff is $1,130 per person, and is collected before departure. It also only applies to nationals of 57 countries, including all countries in Africa, plus India.
The intent of this tariff is pretty clear, as El Salvador wants to deter nationals of those countries from visiting. We can only speculate on exactly why, though.
What’s your take on El Salvador’s new travel fee?
As long as he and those who come after him maintain their morals and character and put the people first I think he will succeed. If future governments decide t try all 70000 at a cost that takes money form looking after the people then that will be a problem. Democracy as we know it is not all that it cracks up to be in the face of lawlessness and immorality. Criminal elements tend to...
As long as he and those who come after him maintain their morals and character and put the people first I think he will succeed. If future governments decide t try all 70000 at a cost that takes money form looking after the people then that will be a problem. Democracy as we know it is not all that it cracks up to be in the face of lawlessness and immorality. Criminal elements tend to have no sense of conscience or humanity and thus a regular democracy would not have solved this problem. So this government "is good until it is not" as Bukele says.
On Dec 22 - 2023 - Avianca Airlines charged me "El Salvador - AIRPORT IMPROVEMENT FEE" - for $1130 while boarding plane at San Francisco Airport.
Receipt for transaction was not provided though they said it will be given at boarding gate.
I came to this country legally - hold an Indian Passport and US Permanent Resident.
Why would I go to El Salvador and then try to sneak in through the southern border ?
My partner is from ES and we were very close to booking our wedding in ES. I'm a Canadian but born in an African country (which is stated on my passport) and look brown. If airline staff are going to be the ones implementing this new "airport tax" I wouldn't put it past them to try to collect fees from someone like me and my family because i fit the mould. We all know what...
My partner is from ES and we were very close to booking our wedding in ES. I'm a Canadian but born in an African country (which is stated on my passport) and look brown. If airline staff are going to be the ones implementing this new "airport tax" I wouldn't put it past them to try to collect fees from someone like me and my family because i fit the mould. We all know what they're trying to do and it is consistent with all policies ES has implemented over centuries.
Needless to say the wedding isn't happening there if it might cost us thousands of dollars unknowingly.
I took an Avianca flight BOG-SAL in July. 60% of the passengers were Africans from the country of Guinea. I got to the gate area and I had to check to make sure I was still in the right place. They had arrived on Turkish Airlines Star Alliance. They even had what appeared to be humanitarian aid "handlers" helping them navigate the trip.
First off, why would most want to go to El Salvador --- to coin a phrase, high on the list of Shit Hole Countries....
Hopefully this will back fire and a boycott of that shitty country will ensue
El Salvador is actually becoming quite popular. It has some of the best surfing in the world. With gang violence eliminated it is far from being a shithole but you obviously have never been there.
Could it be that Miss Universe is taking place in El Salvador next month? Just sayin...
Thousands & Thousands of Indians are going to Mexico/US Border via El Salvador. This may put a small dent, but not much, Indians have a lot of Money after they sell their Farms and valuable Lands to come to US and collect Welfare and Free Housing.
Why is a novel idea to try to curb illegal activity so controversial. A sovereign country can certainly impose taxes or charge different rates on whomever they choose. Why when I go to a bazaar in a foreign country (Egypt for example) as an American am I charged higher rates than locals? Is that racist? Good for El Salvador for trying to do something, anything, to try to curb their geopolitical issues. People seem to forget this is criminal activity!
I think this is a great idea and will absolutely curb illegals from entering the USA. Well done on El Salvador's part and shows they are willing partners trying to minimize criminal activity. Hopefully every central and South America country will follow suit. Brilliant actually.
Illegal migrants can originate from any country. It's no surprise to anyone that ES will continue their historic policies to keep out certain looking individuals
The payment can I pay cash?
A foreign government with racist policy not align to Western democracy.
Let's ban their airlines and using airspace.
Let's block their SWIFT system.
Let's send advance weapons to Mexico.
Let's deploy an aircraft carrier.
Keep those sanctions going.
Double standards?
What are you talking about?
Human traffickers and motivated asylum seekers are not going to be deterred by $1000 fee if the routes somehow still stay and the people to facilitate it are not arrested. I know that number of Indians entering illegally has significantly increased in past 2 years, but frankly is a drop in the bucket (out of a total of 2.77 million illegals last year in transit, only about 65,000 were from Indian origin). But it definitely...
Human traffickers and motivated asylum seekers are not going to be deterred by $1000 fee if the routes somehow still stay and the people to facilitate it are not arrested. I know that number of Indians entering illegally has significantly increased in past 2 years, but frankly is a drop in the bucket (out of a total of 2.77 million illegals last year in transit, only about 65,000 were from Indian origin). But it definitely feels arbitrary and a bit discriminatory unless they publish statistics specific to ES.
Of course El Salvador has a right to do whatever it wants and frankly I don't see legitimate Indians from anywhere visiting El Salvador of all places for a vacation :D so.. meh..
This is wonderful news for El Salvador, USA and the region. I really hope Mexico can find a way to implement a similar policy, maybe a proper visa that can be applied for where finances are verified and another like the current one with maybe a $5,000 bond posted on departure only returned when exiting the country via the route taken in (for example, completing the second leg back home of a return trip). In...
This is wonderful news for El Salvador, USA and the region. I really hope Mexico can find a way to implement a similar policy, maybe a proper visa that can be applied for where finances are verified and another like the current one with maybe a $5,000 bond posted on departure only returned when exiting the country via the route taken in (for example, completing the second leg back home of a return trip). In fact, I hope the entire region takes concrete steps to not allow aviation to be used for these journeys.
The spirit of Asylum rules has been killed by low cost aviation and a large number of agents willing to push people through unsavory places. People are paying for these by selling family property back home (at least in India), plunging their remaining relatives into poverty for false promises of American wealth. Somebody truly seeking asylum should seek it in a place nearer to their home.
How dare El Salvador try to deter poor foreigners from certain regions infamous for destabilizing the demographic they invade! It’s almost as if they care about their citizenry. The bigots.
Someone should file an online petition and we should all put the respective flags on our twitter accounts to show solidarity.
Don’t these fools know they’d be culturally enriched by these folks who don’t have any way to support themselves?
This is due hundreds of thousands of illegal migrants entering Latin American countries with intention of going to the USA since Biden became president.
As someone that lives in Latin America this situation has become utter chaos for us. These migrants usually pay cartels in Africa that make them fake documents (passports, visas, university acceptance letters, etc). Those cartels then buy round trip tickets for their customers to Latin America and even offer them a...
This is due hundreds of thousands of illegal migrants entering Latin American countries with intention of going to the USA since Biden became president.
As someone that lives in Latin America this situation has become utter chaos for us. These migrants usually pay cartels in Africa that make them fake documents (passports, visas, university acceptance letters, etc). Those cartels then buy round trip tickets for their customers to Latin America and even offer them a guide to help them trek to the USA by foot.
This causes us chaos because:
1) we need to deport everyone with fake passports. These deportees cause citizens with paid for tickets to get bumped because sometimes 90% of the incoming plane are found to be on counterfeit passports.
2) these migrants do not spend any money in the local economies and therefore are abusing any incentives that some countries have setup for airlines that bring in tourists.
3) these passengers are booked on round trip tickets that the outbound is always not used. This prevents locals from being able to travel due to empty planes being sold out.
4) the non migrants are punished with excessively long procedures for deboarding flights from Europe where all these migrants are connecting in.
5) the economic burden of dealing with so many people attempting to migrate far outweighs the current airport fees. These migrants mostly have not showered in over a month. Many need medical attention. I'm very sorry but $1k seems fair due to the economic burden they are creating us.
If Biden wants an open doors usa migration policy he can do it with non stop flights from Africa. Let the migrants buy one way tickets. Why are we in the middle of all this. None of them are even seeking asylum in our countries.
Google "Biden express" for pictures of how full our planes are with migrants. This isn't one or two. This is 95% of entire planes from Istanbul.
Most immigrants in Central America are from Central and South America
I appreciate Ben bringing this tax to the attention of aviation readers - myself included.
It highlights major geopolitical issues which, for someone, are where their comments get off the rails.
Sovereign countries do have the ability to set their own policy.
El Salvador is no longer interested in being a transshipment point for human trafficking and attempts at illegal immigration to the US and these fees are directed to that end
Sovereign countries have an ability to set their own policy like allowing friendly countries to use their airspace and disallow hostile ones even if some other people with comments "off the rails" can't fathom that and cry wolf, you mean?
If they are not interested as transshipment points let them impose visas
Lmaooo, the dude literally lowered the crime rate by 90% and has insane approval ratings with his people. Yet, STILL, even in such an open and shut case of good policy, still there're plenty of western knowbetter wackos in the comments calling him typical western press names. You peoples legit just can't tolerate anybody doing anything well or right, can you
Hasn't he lowered the crime rate thought by putting thousands of people in prison without trial though? And accusations of torture in these prisons abound.
The problem is that when the government lowers the crime rate by committing crimes itself, there is no net gain. Yes, many Salvadorans are happy with Bukele now, but in the end, the police state will abuse its authority more and more, everyone will realize they have lost their own freedom and security, and sentiment will turn against the government. But by then it will be difficult and painful to restore democracy. That is the...
The problem is that when the government lowers the crime rate by committing crimes itself, there is no net gain. Yes, many Salvadorans are happy with Bukele now, but in the end, the police state will abuse its authority more and more, everyone will realize they have lost their own freedom and security, and sentiment will turn against the government. But by then it will be difficult and painful to restore democracy. That is the danger of allowing a strongman to give you what you say you want. You can look at pretty much any nation whose people initially succumbed to this temptation and see the same dynamic (Nazi Germany, Philipines, etc).
Politics is never as simple as people in the developed west like to believe. There are also counter examples to what you claim is always true, like Singapore.
"here are also counter examples to what you claim is always true, like Singapore."
A degree of authoritarianism is more tolerable when the economy is roaring and the vast majority can at least get a good education and a decent job. Singapore and to an extent China are examples of this. It's when the economy tanks and the government puts the screws on the resulting unrest that the most serious abuses happen.
As for Syd's...
"here are also counter examples to what you claim is always true, like Singapore."
A degree of authoritarianism is more tolerable when the economy is roaring and the vast majority can at least get a good education and a decent job. Singapore and to an extent China are examples of this. It's when the economy tanks and the government puts the screws on the resulting unrest that the most serious abuses happen.
As for Syd's rant, I don't claim to be smarter than Salvadorans, and I certainly didn't ever state that I know a better way - because I don't know what the solution is. But I do know what history tells us about authoritarian regimes, and that is something all of us, including but not limited to Salvadorans, should be very aware of.
It is so simple for human rights groups to criticize his actions but you would be hard pressed to find one Salvadoran from a gang ridden area that is not thrilled to finally have a safe neighborhood to live.
I would invite any of these groups to move to such a neighborhood anywhere in the world including the US and see if they do not quickly change their mindset. You truly have to live...
It is so simple for human rights groups to criticize his actions but you would be hard pressed to find one Salvadoran from a gang ridden area that is not thrilled to finally have a safe neighborhood to live.
I would invite any of these groups to move to such a neighborhood anywhere in the world including the US and see if they do not quickly change their mindset. You truly have to live in their shoes to understand how bad the situation really was.
As for those of you pretending the US and other Western nations do not have racist policies, just look at US visa policy. The necessity of a visa and its fee are based solely on one's nationality. El Salvador is essentially doing the same but with an airport fee rather than a visa fee. Note that Indians and citizens of every African nation need a visa.
There you go - glad I got plenty of western knownbetter wackos right under one post.
Ok, sure, let's all fly in tomorrow and explain to El Salvadorians how dumb they are, how they got it all wrong, how they should've kept allowing the gangs to run rampant and for their very poor country to continue to top every crime rate ranking imaginable, as it had done for many years in the past -...
There you go - glad I got plenty of western knownbetter wackos right under one post.
Ok, sure, let's all fly in tomorrow and explain to El Salvadorians how dumb they are, how they got it all wrong, how they should've kept allowing the gangs to run rampant and for their very poor country to continue to top every crime rate ranking imaginable, as it had done for many years in the past - all out of a fear of a must-smarter-than-them western highly-educated liberal that down the road their leader may get drunk with power and may become a dictator.
Who's coming with me, James and snic?
It's insane to look at a city like San Francisco and then think the people running it should decide anything for anyone.
They should be thrown in jail for their deliberate attempts to subvert our civilization. Newsflash: Northern European culture is best. That's why you all want to live among us.
LOL, maybe SF can decide for itself. If you don't like it stay the fuck out of California.
If Biden and his cronies can’t stop irregular migration, then other ‘ports of entry’ must take action.
Tell us about all the Republican (or really, any) President who stopped "irregular migration," including the one so many seem desperate to bring back, who also failed to do the same......
Have you considered that El Salvador is probably doing this under pressure from the US? I guess not - doesn't really fit the nonsensical narrative that Biden somehow "wants" illegal immigration.
How is this different from the visa programs of most developed countries, including the US? If you want to visit the US, you have to pay an exorbitant visa fee, and you have to prove your ability to pay. And these rules have all sorts of quotas and stuff that vary by country (of origin of the passenger). The reality is if you're able to satisfy the USCIS in this regard, you can certainly pay for the El Salvador tariff too.
As someone who has a HK passport, US$160 (and a slightly ridiculous wait time) grants me a 10-year entry into the US. Not great, but slightly different from a one-time US$1000 charge from low-income countries.
As someone who has two different EU countries "power"passports, US$21(and less than an hour wait time), grants me a 2-year entry into the US. Great and lightyears away from a one-time US$1000 charge from low-income and US$160 from non-friendly countries.
You're forgetting two things:
1) Financial resources that can pay for travel to USA
2) Being from a culture that you want to return home to
Bukele is BASED as always.
What is interesting is what countries in Asia they haven’t included in this high fee scheme: Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The El Salvadoran President has Lebanese-Syrian family.
There has been a big increase over the years in Indian coming irregularly across the southern US border following entering the Americas via Latin American countries. Maybe this is El Salvador’s way of playing a PR game about being “tough” on “border security”.
I am not currently up to date on the market for fraudulent use of real passports, but it does work to get some to the US border/ports of entry to claim asylum if not able to cross elsewhere without a passport. But the vast, vast majority of the irregular immigration into the US across the southern border consists of people whose origins in the Americas go back far from well before there was a US.
For Afghanistan, a large amount of the people who wanted to move were able to get documents to do so, based on helping the USA. I thought this was a very friendly and reasonable policy by USA.
First off a lot of Indians do cross illegally though Mexico and Mexico isn't keen to allow them in. Last time I flew to MEX there were hundreds of Indians waiting pre immigration prolly about to be deported.
Cynical me thinks it's a simple money grab by a poor country. If you want to illegally immigrate to the US and Mexico won't let you in give us a grand then pay to be trafficked. I...
First off a lot of Indians do cross illegally though Mexico and Mexico isn't keen to allow them in. Last time I flew to MEX there were hundreds of Indians waiting pre immigration prolly about to be deported.
Cynical me thinks it's a simple money grab by a poor country. If you want to illegally immigrate to the US and Mexico won't let you in give us a grand then pay to be trafficked. I doubt anyone wants to migrate to El Salvador or is overstaying their visa. I'm sure they want to GTFO ASAP as do many El Salvadorians.
https://qz.com/an-unprecedented-number-of-indians-are-trying-to-enter-1849637849
Plenty of Indians live in CDMX FWIW.
I don't doubt it, the Indian diaspora is quite broad and CDMX is a financial hub. Lots of Koreans and some great Korean restaurants in DF.
That being said I doubt the Indians I saw were residents of Mexico.
This "cynical" interpretation actually makes a lot of sense. El Salvador doesn't really care about people coming into the country and then leaving. Why should it? But with this charge, they get a cut of the trafficking business. AND they appease the US by appearing to do something about illegal immigration to the US.
Boom.
Hahaha, yeah what I call common sense is often considered cynical by others. But it's a win win for El Salvador as you pointed out.
Couldn’t someone take this to court - seems like pretty clear discrimination, either all or no one should pay it.
FYI, discrimination isn't illegal in many countries. It can be perfectly legal to charge different ethnic, religious or national groups higher fees on the basis of their identity.
I thought the guy who thought this was about ms universe had the dumbest post but you win sir.
El Salvador is a fascist country who jails their own citizens without evidence. They certainly don't give a rats a$$ about charging Indians and Africans a grand to start their journeys to the US.
FWIW the US and European countries do similar things in terms of Visas and the policies haven't been successfully challenged...
I thought the guy who thought this was about ms universe had the dumbest post but you win sir.
El Salvador is a fascist country who jails their own citizens without evidence. They certainly don't give a rats a$$ about charging Indians and Africans a grand to start their journeys to the US.
FWIW the US and European countries do similar things in terms of Visas and the policies haven't been successfully challenged in court. If you aren't a citizen of a country you don't have the rights of a citizen.
The collapse of the crime rate and murder rate is evidence enough that Bukele is right.
Do Bukele's crime and murder figures include the crimes his government has committed, including imprisoning and murdering people without trial? How rosy do the numbers look after you include those crimes in the statistics?
You can - and should - discriminate as you see fit as a sovereign nation. For example. El Salvador could make a law no manboob cucks can come in. And then you couldn't get in, missy.
Isn't that wonderful? You can't do anything about it.
El Salvador is one of the easiest places to offload bitcoin. Can even use ATMs. For countries like India that have strict controls on currency exports El Salvador may be a haven of sorts.
Or the migration thing. But all this does is shift inbound migrants to other central American countries.
There are plenty of easier ways to get around Indian bureaucracy than Bitcoin via El Salvador!
As for Indian controls on currency export, you can move pretty much any amount legally as long as you are a registered taxpayer and can document the source of funds. No different to most countries in that respect, except that the process is more bureaucratic than most because of India's complex social relationship with banking.
There are a vast number of people from Africa and India who try to travel to Central America as a first step towards entering the US illegally. Airlines are often able to refuse them at the point of departure.
Also consider these people are being taken advantage of by cartels and smugglers doing all kinds of illegal activities. Many Indians are able to enter some countries in African under the guise of being students...
There are a vast number of people from Africa and India who try to travel to Central America as a first step towards entering the US illegally. Airlines are often able to refuse them at the point of departure.
Also consider these people are being taken advantage of by cartels and smugglers doing all kinds of illegal activities. Many Indians are able to enter some countries in African under the guise of being students with fake documents. These cartels then ask for payments upfront and book with airlines in various ways to get them to Central America. If one airline refuses they try another. It’s about money and they don’t care about the victims who are being exploited.
I was there this August. Traveled by shuttle from Guatemala and then flew out of San Salvador. Many other tourists in Guatemala were absolutely shocked I was voluntarily traveling to El Salvador as they had heard it was so dangerous (very few US tourists in either country that were not visiting family, almost all European or Australia and New Zealand). I don't think I came across an independent tourist from Africa or India during our...
I was there this August. Traveled by shuttle from Guatemala and then flew out of San Salvador. Many other tourists in Guatemala were absolutely shocked I was voluntarily traveling to El Salvador as they had heard it was so dangerous (very few US tourists in either country that were not visiting family, almost all European or Australia and New Zealand). I don't think I came across an independent tourist from Africa or India during our time in either country so where were these tourists visiting? I am not trying to stereotype or generalize, I am talking about actually talking to people because there were not a ton of us that weren't on some bus type/shuttle you off to take a photo/shuttle you back on tour.
I had read the news and studied on what was happening in El Salvador with this new President. I honestly felt more safe in El Salvador than many parts of Guatemala. The people were more open and friendly and genuinely just happy to have tourists.
They adore this man!!! It is their country. Who is anyone to say what should happen in another country if you don't live there?
Guatemala is now on the verge of an attempted coup by a deposed leader even though it has a much more developed tourism infrastructure (outside of the airport).
El Salvador is very stable right now.
I will say the main airport outside of San Salvador is very modern and very well run. By far the best I have witnessed in Central America so far as well as quite a few other countries.
I was thinking that may be this is due to the upcoming Miss Universe 2023 contest which will be held in El Salvador on November 18, 2023. The competition will begin from early November. Supporters will be visiting El Salvador to support their countries. So they wanted to limit the number of Africans and Indians who will be visiting El Salvador during the competition.
So fly to Guatemala and take the bus to San Salvador. Four hours. Or five hours from Tegucigalpa. I can see charging higher visa fees, but just for people wealthy enough to fly? Maybe they have a feud with UN employees and see too many from Africa and India.
Last time I was visiting El Salvador, I found it oddly many Indians staying at Airbnb in the same building I was in. They use El Salvador as a launching pad to the USA
How dare sovereign nations decide who they want in or not? It should be white people on America's coasts who decide every country's immigration policy.
Preferably white people who are rich enough to preach diversity, but live very far from it themselves.
So if this is about illegal immigration, are you willing to accept that the Biden Administration is actually doing something? Asking for a friend.
It's about all immigration. Every country has the right to say you know what, no more Africans.
For no or any reason.
Every country has the right to void visas of foreigners, too. There's nothing wrong with deporting, say, 20 million immigrants if they won't leave. You basically just do it.
"Sovereign" is a word dumb right-wingers use to sound worldly and intelligent.
Saw-vren-taaaaaaaaaay
Oh Sara, honey, no.
The time you’re spending trolling here like a loser and generally being an angry lunatic online would be so much more productively spent seeking help for your deteriorating mental health issues.
Please do consider getting the assistance you obviously need before commenting again, honey.
Hey Pudu, those are pretty gross comments about someone you don't know. This is a blog about aviation, yeah? Cheers, honey.
Pudu - Africans are discriminated against in El Salvador.
Because they're useless.
Thank you.
I am sure that the deep dive into this is a place you don't want to go. Because you will never understand. There is more to this. A lot more. That's the only thing I am sure of. Most likely it involves trafficking, weapons, drugs, and money.
I think even Ecuador for a brief period brought strict controls on Indian travelers by going from visa free travel to visa required and charging $400 USD for a visa per individual. Apparently it was done after reports emerged of Indian citizens overstaying in the country illegally.
There have been reports in some Indian publications of Indian migrants appearing at the southern border and they could very well be exploiting the visa free countries...
I think even Ecuador for a brief period brought strict controls on Indian travelers by going from visa free travel to visa required and charging $400 USD for a visa per individual. Apparently it was done after reports emerged of Indian citizens overstaying in the country illegally.
There have been reports in some Indian publications of Indian migrants appearing at the southern border and they could very well be exploiting the visa free countries as a loop hole (which El Salvador is too).
Its a shame as a few dishonest people make it difficult for all other.
Does it apply if you live in another country even though you have a passport from one of these African countries? Like flying from Canada via El Salvador
My understanding is that it is presently being applied initially to anyone born in Africa or India, regardless of their current residence or citizenship. So a Canadian citizen who was born in Africa would still be charged the fee. This may be streamlined better in due course once the dust settles.
@Sean, as the resident airline exec, what would an airline do in this situation when they are suddenly required to collect significant additional taxes from travelers? Chase after them or try to collect before boarding? Allow travelers to cancel without penalty? Something else?
This is the first I've heard of this. However as Ben mentioned, there are many illegal immigrants coming through the airports and other ports of entry through Central America. They overstay their visa, and then "dissappear". Since the American taxpayers fund many countries around the world, I wouldn't be surprised if the US Government asked El Salvador and others to help with this issue, at least in the lead up to the election. El Salvador...
This is the first I've heard of this. However as Ben mentioned, there are many illegal immigrants coming through the airports and other ports of entry through Central America. They overstay their visa, and then "dissappear". Since the American taxpayers fund many countries around the world, I wouldn't be surprised if the US Government asked El Salvador and others to help with this issue, at least in the lead up to the election. El Salvador seems to have just added a funding mechanism to theirs. Very odd indeed.
But they are still coming to the U.S. from a foreign airport with a passport originating from, say, India. How would that even matter to CBP? In fact, if you are traveling from Central America on an Indian passport and it's a known loophole would you not have suspicion? It'snot like they are getting a Salvadorian passport when there.
Agree, it is absurd and targeted policy. I can't imagine this measure will reduce the flow of immigrants at the southern border since most are coming from Latin America and the Caribbean, particularly Haiti. My assumption is that most Africans and Indians come legally into the US and overstay their visas. I doubt many are flying into El Salvador and making the trek up. This is a move just for show. Hey America, look we are doing something see.
Ummmmm.....are You not getting the point? Most of tese types of immigrants WOULDN'T end up on the southern border. They would either connect through, or stay for a bit and then buy a separate ticket and do exactly as You stated and overstay the visa. This scheme is basically taking out the "poorest" amongst each of those countries effectively ensuring that only passengers with an extra $1200USD sitting around to pay the "pass through El Salvador Tax".
In your scenario, they are buying a separate ticket or connecting to come to the US from El Salvador. If they are connecting through El Salvador to come to the US and already have a visa, why the extra step of stopping in El Salvador? How does coming from El Salvador instead of say flying in from Delhi change the equation per your scenario? I would say it doesn't. So, no. I really don't really...
In your scenario, they are buying a separate ticket or connecting to come to the US from El Salvador. If they are connecting through El Salvador to come to the US and already have a visa, why the extra step of stopping in El Salvador? How does coming from El Salvador instead of say flying in from Delhi change the equation per your scenario? I would say it doesn't. So, no. I really don't really see your point here. Also, my point still stands. The illegal immigrants even in your scenario are a relatively small number. This is purely a move to show the US "we are doing something" but will not have a real impact at all.
I'm confused, enlighten me, how would a passenger from India, as example, benefit from flying from India via El Salvador versus flying straight to the U.S. In fact, it seems more suspicious if routing via El Salvador. What you say makes absolutely no sense in my attempt to understand this.
They can't fly to the US since they don't have a visa. I'm guessing they can enter El Salvador without a visa or can easily get a visa to enter El Salvador and then illegally make their way up to the USA by land.
Over the last few months, there has been a humongous surge of African travelers to Nicaragua in particular (a nearly 10000% increase year-on-year in some markets). Most of these travelers have been transiting via Istanbul/Panama City or Frankfurt/San Jose, leading both Panama and Costa Rica to impose transit visa restrictions recently. The USG has been pressuring most Central American countries to restrict easy transit for high risk travelers and this seems to be El Salvador's...
Over the last few months, there has been a humongous surge of African travelers to Nicaragua in particular (a nearly 10000% increase year-on-year in some markets). Most of these travelers have been transiting via Istanbul/Panama City or Frankfurt/San Jose, leading both Panama and Costa Rica to impose transit visa restrictions recently. The USG has been pressuring most Central American countries to restrict easy transit for high risk travelers and this seems to be El Salvador's way of dealing with it.
African undocumented migration to the USA through this route (and also the Antigua to USVI route) are poised to be the next big human trafficking wave unless arrested early. Social media in Africa is deluged with ads for one-way tickets to Nicaragua recently, and some enterprising airlines like Ben's favourite Air Peace are even organising B777 charters from Nigeria to Antigua to cater to this demand.
Their president is a Trump-like strongman who's popular among the MAGA/pro-Russia/Tucker Carlson crowd.
From what I hear from my Salvadoran colleagues, he’s cleaning up the rampant crime problem and dramatically improving the quality of life for average Salvadorans. Sometimes it takes a strongman to make order out of chaos.
Libs like Toprak would prefer mayhem in the streets over anyone who disagrees with the socialist line. The fact that El Salvador has reduced their homicide rate (formerly the 2nd worst on Earth) by 90% is of no matter because he's somehow "MAGA" and that's worse than death.
He's cleaning up the crime problem though by simply locking up people without any proper trial or proof they have done anything wrong in prison camps they will never be allowed to leave. It's hardly justice.
I won’t be visiting anytime soon. That’s not racist at all. *sarcasm lots and lots of Sarcasm*
Oh no, how will El Salvador ever be able to cope with you not visiting them
Prudent measure to deter illegal migrants
we should just open the border and let everyone in without any vetting..
oh wait..