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When new passport rules for air travellers between Canada and the U.S. start today, jetsetters without the documents will be turned away unless they can demonstrate extenuating circumstances.
Officials with U.S. Customs and Border Protection expect a smooth transition to the new regulations, but spokesman Mike Milne says they're prepared for Canadians who arrive at airports without the newly required documentation.
Milne said those will be assessed individually.
"We have a lot of avenues open to us to let people continue their travel," he said.
"We want to implement this in an intelligent way ... it's not a gotcha thing."
Milne pointed specifically to snow birds attempting to return to Canada without a valid passport.
"They'll certainly be allowed to fly back to Canada with the expectation that when they come back next fall that they have their requirements," he said.
The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, a security measure passed by Congress in 2004, will require all travellers entering the U.S., including Americans, to present a passport when crossing the border.
On this side of the border, air travellers lacking a passport who have extenuating circumstances will be checked through to U.S. customs, said WestJet spokeswomen Gillian Bentley.
"We've been advised that in extenuating circumstances it's up to the U.S. border people to make that decision," Bentley said, pointing to a death in the family as an example.
For other travellers without passports, WestJet will cancel their booking, charge a $40 cancellation fee and put the remainder of their ticket price into a credit file for later use, she said.
Meanwhile, Canadian passport offices continue to be inundated with a record volume of passport applications.
The government agency is getting about 21,000 applications a day -- up from 13,000 on a regular busy day.
Applications are taking an extra 20 business days to process -- up from the previous standard of 10 business days for in-person applications and 20 days for those received by mail.
Canadians can still to travel to the U.S. by land or boat without a passport until June 1, 2009.