AVIXA, DPAA & DSF Announce New Global Travel Privileges Program
Adrian J Cotterill, Editor-in-Chief
In a groundbreaking industry first, three of our major associations, namely AVIXA, DPAA and the Digital Signage Federation have spent the last six months in secret talks, aimed at bringing members of each association, unprecedented Global Travel Privileges.
This new programme will, for example, make travel to Las Vegas, NV., Orlando, FL. and New York, NY. much easier for equipment carrying IT and AV Professionals.
On your way to a trade show, you may well have experienced the ignomy of having your carry-on bag placed to one side and searched multiple times, as a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agent (or local country equivalent), tries to figure out what all your gang sockets, convertor sockets, HDMI and Ethernet cables, power packs, cameras, lights etc. are, and whether they are on the prohibited items list.
The new ‘AVTrump’ Global Travel Privileges programme comes into force immediately, instantaneously benefiting all of those travelling to InfoComm 2018 in Las Vegas, June 6-8, 2018 from all major northern hemisphere airports.
Tom Milner, Managing Director of UK based Service & Support Ltd and a regular attendee at ISE, DSE and InfoComm told us via Skype that he was delighted with the new programme, “this is just yet another reason why you should join one of these associations. I estimate that it takes me 45 – 60 minutes more than the average flyer to get through the security checks as they take my bag apart”.**
AVTrump benefits include access to special security lines at the following airports; John F Kennedy (JFK), McCarran International (LAS), Orlando International (MCO), Newark International (EWR), free use of GLOBAL ENTRY at other North America airports regardless of nationality and reciprocal ‘easy-screening’ arrangements at London Gatwick (LGW), London Heathrow (LHR), Paris Charles De Gaulle (CDG), Munich Franz Josef Strauss (MUC) and many more in Europe.
Reading through the press release it is obvious that these industry associations have spent a considerable amount of time working together and negotiating with the relevant authorities in each country. We have no doubt that the #AVtweeps community will react favourably to this initiative.
DPAA President and CEO Barry Frey told us “I don’t know much about history, don’t know much about AV, don’t know much about a science book and don’t know much about the french I took but I do know that the AVTrump programme will seriously benefit all of the hard working IT, digital signage and AV professionals who travel to trade shows each year”.
Note that AVTrump will not work in any Central American or South American country, an interesting but unfortunate anomaly, which we are led to believe, is likely due to what has become known as the ‘Taco Incident’. This is despite the incredibly hard work put in by the Digital Signage Federation lobbying the new Asociaciòn Digital Signage Latinoamèrica.
** See ‘Do you have your own Chief of Stuff‘, published May 31, 2015.
Follow DailyDOOH