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3/20/2007 3:34 AM

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For the second time in a month, airline travelers across the country were stranded over the weekend because of severe winter weather. This time, instead of a blizzard, the problem was an ice storm that paralyzed the Northeast.

The 100,000 customers of US Airways who spent Sunday night in airports are, for the most part, on their way by now. But there is a different kind of delay facing the traveling public, and the only way to counteract it is to prepare well in advance.

As of Jan. 23, everyone coming into the United States by plane from Canada, Mexico or Bermuda must have a valid U.S. passport. At the first of next year, a passport will be required to enter this country by land or sea, including ferries and commuter trains, from Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean and Bermuda.

The days when Toronto was, for tourist purposes, just another American city are gone. Free, unrestricted travel across our northern and southern borders will be a thing of the past, another casualty of the post-911 world.

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The new rules have clogged the passport process for everybody because of the huge increase in applications. The State Department says the wait to receive a passport is about 8 to 10 weeks, although there are reports that in practice it's as long as 12 weeks.

We are reading horror stories about people whose spring vacation plans were endangered because they did not anticipate a delay, and their passports had not arrived. We suspect the problem will become worse as summer nears.

This is just another challenge for travelers. If you plan to go out of the country for any reason, you'll need a passport. Don't wait until the last minute to apply for one.

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