Dubai: The pre-clearance facility that allows airline passengers to clear United States customs and immigration before leaving Abu Dhabi is “working very well”, a US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) official told Gulf News on Monday.
The facility at Abu Dhabi International opened in January last year to criticism that it created flight delays and gave Etihad Airways, the Abu Dhabi home carrier, an unfair advantage.
But the facility is now “working successfully” and alleviating pressure on US airports, Charles E. Stallworth II, Assistant Commissioner, Office of International Affairs at the CBP, told Gulf News at the Dubai International Exhibition and Convention Centre.
The US immigration pre-clearance system allows passengers and their luggage to be cleared for entry into the US before boarding. The passengers then arrive in the US as domestic passengers bypassing the international arrivals immigration area.
The American aviation community has argued that it is unfair to have the facility in Abu Dhabi because Etihad is the only airline flying directly between the emirate and the US. No US airline currently fly’s to Abu Dhabi and the pre-clearance facility can only be used by passengers on direct flights.
But Stallworth said there is a condition in the agreement the US government signs with foreign governments, including Abu Dhabi, to operate a pre-clearance facility that a US airline will fly from that airport.
“There will be at least one US carrier [flying to Abu Dhabi International],” he said, however was unable to say when.
There were also a number of reports last year that the pre-clearance facility created lengthy, several hourlong delays to Etihad’s flights because of the stringent immigration checks.
Stallworth said there are a higher number of transit passengers flying from Abu Dhabi compared to other preclearance facilities, which is what is causing some of the delays. Last year, it was reported that 80 per cent of all passengers using the pre-clearance system were transiting through Abu Dhabi. The other pre-clearance facilities are in Ireland, Canada and the Caribbean, meanwhile Abu Dhabi is the first and only such facility in the Middle East.
Last year, it was reported that the CBP would invest in more kiosks to improve the processing time of passengers at Abu Dhabi International. Stallworth said that the Abu Dhabi government continues to pay “85 per cent” of the costs associated with operating the facility.
