US Customs to Double Pre-Clearance

US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) plans to double pre-clearance capacity at Airports over the next decade....

http://www.routesonline.com/news/29/bre ... -airports/

Any one expecting this to happen in the UK will be waiting a long time.

UK Government will have to basically cede part of the UK to the US at each airport - which it won't do. It will require massive changes at any UK airport that want's it as US precleared passengers won't be allowed to mix with 'unclean' ones.

And there will be massive arguments if it were to be implemented at LHR in case it was seen to offer one airline an advantage over another. Unless one terminal was designated a specific US flights only one and that would require massive investment as well as inconvenience.

If a UK airport were to start doing this, it would get as much of my (admittedly limited) business as I could (i.e. depending on destinations offered) in a heartbeat. If I were an airport operator, I'd be looking closely at this as a means to drive traffic.

You never know, a regional might try this, such as BHX or East Midlands, but doubt a London one would...

You never know, a regional might try this, such as BHX or East Midlands, but doubt a London one would...

Although if Gatwick wanted a true USP...!

I don't see why they wouldn't want to do it from a business point of view. I have never gone via Dublin but how does it work there? Is there a part of Dublin that becomes Little America? I know it is a popular route with a lot of Americans visting Europe.

[honey lamb]

In Dublin, once you go through security, you are directed (via Duty Free and shopping, of course) to the Pre-clearance area which is near the boarding gates and, if my memory serves me correctly, is on a lower floor than the shopping area. Once cleared you cannot go back as technically you are now on American soil. This means that the flight out of Dublin becomes a domestic US flight (even on EI) and duty free is not available for purchase onboard. Whether there is duty-free, or indeed any shops other than ones similar to WHSmith, etc. I do not know and my guru is currently in the US so you will have to await his return to find out. He's back next week

I have also been pre-cleared leaving Canada from both Calgary and Vancouver. From Calgary, it was very smooth with just going through security and the Immigration checks as per normal. There really was nothing to differentiate it from an internal US flight apart from that. In Vancouver it seemed far more aggressive. For starters, there was a dedicated check-in area for all US flights which took up a whole wing of the International terminal. Once past check-in there were large signs announcing that you were now entering the United States of America and it was the full-on experience we have come to expect when going through security in US airports. Once past that and Immigration there was a small duty-free area and some shopping but as my gate was an afterthought for the turbo-props that just hop across the border to SEA and other similar airports it was hard to judge.

I don't see why they wouldn't want to do it from a business point of view. I have never gone via Dublin but how does it work there? Is there a part of Dublin that becomes Little America? I know it is a popular route with a lot of Americans visting Europe.

It is nothing to do with what an airport wants to do on a business basis. LHR, LGW, MAN, BHX or GLA and EDI etc etc could all shout and scream for pre-clearance but the final decision will sit with the UK Government and not the US CBP.

And yes a little bit of the UK essentially would become US soil.

I have done pre-clearance at SNN on the BA01 LCY-JFK service and it is a very good service but there are only a max of 32 pax on that flight. It would be very different with 2-3 hundred passengers flying to MCO let alone with multiple departures.

Thanks. I agree that ultimately any applicant airport is going to be subject to the government blessing it, but my point, which I probably did not make that clear, was that I would love LHR/LGW to apply for it. I would rather be waiting at this end than getting off a 9 hour flight then waiting at the other end. It is a moot point for me when I travel alone as I have GE anyway, but I still think it will be a good thing for when we travel as a family. Time will tell.

My concern would be how early you would have to go the clearance area. On balance I'd probably rather stay in the Clubhouse or a lounge and take my chances coming off the plane.
Of course the more Pre-clearance the less queuing for the rest of us. Maybe?
Dick D

[honey lamb]

I have done pre-clearance at SNN on the BA01 LCY-JFK service and it is a very good service but there are only a max of 32 pax on that flight. It would be very different with 2-3 hundred passengers flying to MCO let alone with multiple departures.

A quick glance at this morning's departures from DUB to the USA showed about 10 departures in a 2 hour period between 10am and 12noon with a variety of aircraft ranging from 757's to 767s and 330s and I haven't heard of any major problems because of it. Some of the flights have departures within 10-15 minutes of each other.

My concern would be how early you would have to go the clearance area. On balance I'd probably rather stay in the Clubhouse or a lounge and take my chances coming off the plane.
Of course the more Pre-clearance the less queuing for the rest of us. Maybe?
Dick D

Aer Lingus recommends checking in at least 3.5 hours before one's flight and check-in closes 75 minutes beforehand.

I don't think you can take your chances coming off the plane and pre-clearance is mandatory. As far as I am aware, flights with pre-clearance are deemed to be domestic flights and arrive in domestic terminals in the US and so there are no Immigration facilities. The fact that they can be checked and tagged on to onward destinations without having to reclaim.

From the Dublin Airport website:

Dublin Airport is one of only a handful of airports outside North America that offer the CBP facility. Having cleared USCBP, passengers arriving in the US are treated as domestic arrivals, which allows for a faster processing through their arrival airport in the United States including the checking through of any baggage to the traveller’s final destination.

Passengers on all US bound flights clear immigration, customs and agriculture inspections at Dublin Airport.