Passengers on Etihad flights to the US will receive customs preclearance before leaving Abu Dhabi – meaning they won’t have to worry about passing through Border Protection upon arrival.
The airline started trials on the preclearance system on Etihad’s mid-morning flights in January last year.
However, commencing 15 January, US preclearance will open for the early morning EY103 to New York JFK and EY183 to San Francisco flights.
The new early morning US preclearance operation complements the mid-morning one, which caters for Etihad Airways passengers on flights to Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Los Angeles, New York JFK, and Washington, D.C.
Etihad chief commercial officer, Peter Baumgartner said US preclearance has been popular amongst air travellers that have trialled it so far, particularly those from the Indian Subcontinent and Middle East.
“More than 325,000 people have passed through the facility, arriving in the United States as domestic passengers.”
Peter Baumgartner, Etihad chief commercial officer
Another key benefit of US preclearance is that baggage security screening meets United States TSA security standards, allowing air travellers who connect onto a US domestic flight to have their baggage checked through from Abu Dhabi to their final destination.
US preclearance at Abu Dhabi Airport is the only one of its kind in the Middle East, and the United Arab Emirates’ capital is one of a small group of airports around the world to offer passengers preclearance into the US.
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During its first 12 months of operation, the US preclearance in Abu Dhabi has improved the passenger experience through the introduction of automated passport control (APC) kiosks and greater numbers of officer processing desks.
The self-service APC kiosks expedite the US entry process for American, Canadian, and eligible visa waiver program (VWP) international travellers, by providing an automated process through US preclearance’s primary inspection area.
