Travel to the United States
When you fly to the United States, special regulations apply. One of these is that airlines are required to collect personal details from passengers. And, if you are not required to have a visa, you will need something else: an electronic travel authorisation.
On this page:
New baggage rules
If you travel in Economy Class between Europe (including Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia) and the United States or Canada, you may bring only 1 piece of check-in luggage, of max. 23 kg (50.5 lbs). This applies to all tickets bought per November 2009.
You can arrange for a second piece for a fee of EUR 50 when departing from Europe. When checking in online via KLM.com, you pay 20% less! All you need is a credit card. If you depart from the United States, you pay USD 50. When leaving Canada, extra baggage can only be arranged at the airport. For a second piece of luggage, you then pay CAD 50.
As a Flying Blue Silver, Gold or Platinum member you may bring 2 pieces free of charge.
Due to the need to inspect baggage for explosives, you are not permitted to lock your hold baggage.
Read more about baggage
Electronic travel authorisation for travellers to the United States
Under the Visa Waiver Programme, residents of certain countries may travel to the United States without having to request a visa. However, travellers from these countries will need to apply for a supplementary travel authorisation (ESTA). Doing this at the website is easy and free of charge.
Read more about applying for the supplementary travel authorisation
Passport
All travellers to the United States must have an e-passport that has a digital photo and a built-in chip, and can be read by machine (also known as an MRP or machine-readable passport). Even babies and older children have to have their own passports; they may not travel on the passport of one of their parents.
If you have a temporary or emergency passport that is not an e-passport, you can no longer travel under the Visa Waiver Programme. You must then apply for a visa for your trip to the United States.
Checking in
You will have to provide the supplementary information during the check-in procedure. If you have an e-ticket, you can save time by filling in this extra information yourself. You can use online check-in from 24 hours to 1 hour before the departure of flights from Amsterdam to the United States. This also applies to flights operated by Northwest Airlines departing from Brussels, Düsseldorf, Frankfort, London Gatwick and Paris-Charles de Gaulle to the United States.
When you have no e-ticket number and are travelling to the United States, you cannot check in online. To avoid a longer wait during check-in at the airport, you can download the form, print it out and fill it in ahead of time. Then all you have to do at the airport check-in desk is submit the form.
Providing supplementary information
Upon checking in for your flight to the United States, you are obliged to provide the following information:
- Flight reservation reference number (PNR)
- Family name and first name
- Date of birth and gender
- Passport number
- Country that issued the passport
- Passport expiration date
- Nationality and the country in which the passenger resides
- Temporary address in the United States where the passenger will be staying. This address must include the house number, street, city/town, abbreviation used for the state, and the zip code. This information is not required for passengers with the American nationality and for passengers who have a Permanent Resident Card.