Reports: US seeks more pre-clearance facilities in Europe
Sep 12, 2014Alan Dron
The US government is understood to be seeking pre-clearance facilities in the UK and other European countries for travelers to the US.
UK media reports cited documents seen by journalists in which the US had asked for such facilities to be installed in five European nations. US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers would be stationed overseas to question transatlantic travelers before they boarded US-bound aircraft.
CBP officials already operate such facilities, which incorporate immigration and Customs, in both Dublin and Shannon airports, in Ireland. Under the procedure, passengers cleared by the CBP effectively arrive in the US as domestic traffic, avoiding the frequently lengthy immigration queues at US airports.
There are similar facilities in Canada and the Caribbean.
However, the installation of a pre-clearance facility in Abu Dhabi earlier this year met with strong opposition for the US airline industry, which felt it tilted the playing field in favor of Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways.
Pilots’ union ALPA said that “by allowing a CBP preclearance facility at Abu Dhabi International Airport, where no US air carrier currently flies, the US government is handing a state-subsidized airline, Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, a major competitive advantage over US airlines.”
A facility in the UK – to which US carriers fly multiple times daily and would share in the benefits of the facility – would be less controversial.
The documents seen by UK journalists originated in Germany and were that country’s government’s response to a parliamentary question. It said that "Britain sees the advantages in allowing this procedure.”
In a statement, the UK’s Home Office, the government department that deals with law and order matters, said: "Pre-clearance, which is already in operation in Ireland, is a means of speeding the entry of passengers through US airports.
“Pre-clearance checks are entirely separate from aviation security screening. The government has not received any request from a UK airport to introduce such measures."
A spokesman declined to say whether any US request for such a facility – formal or informal – had been received by the UK government.
http://atwonline.com/security/reports-us-seeks-more-pre-clearance-facilities-europe?
Sep 12, 2014Alan Dron
The US government is understood to be seeking pre-clearance facilities in the UK and other European countries for travelers to the US.
UK media reports cited documents seen by journalists in which the US had asked for such facilities to be installed in five European nations. US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers would be stationed overseas to question transatlantic travelers before they boarded US-bound aircraft.
CBP officials already operate such facilities, which incorporate immigration and Customs, in both Dublin and Shannon airports, in Ireland. Under the procedure, passengers cleared by the CBP effectively arrive in the US as domestic traffic, avoiding the frequently lengthy immigration queues at US airports.
There are similar facilities in Canada and the Caribbean.
However, the installation of a pre-clearance facility in Abu Dhabi earlier this year met with strong opposition for the US airline industry, which felt it tilted the playing field in favor of Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways.
Pilots’ union ALPA said that “by allowing a CBP preclearance facility at Abu Dhabi International Airport, where no US air carrier currently flies, the US government is handing a state-subsidized airline, Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, a major competitive advantage over US airlines.”
A facility in the UK – to which US carriers fly multiple times daily and would share in the benefits of the facility – would be less controversial.
The documents seen by UK journalists originated in Germany and were that country’s government’s response to a parliamentary question. It said that "Britain sees the advantages in allowing this procedure.”
In a statement, the UK’s Home Office, the government department that deals with law and order matters, said: "Pre-clearance, which is already in operation in Ireland, is a means of speeding the entry of passengers through US airports.
“Pre-clearance checks are entirely separate from aviation security screening. The government has not received any request from a UK airport to introduce such measures."
A spokesman declined to say whether any US request for such a facility – formal or informal – had been received by the UK government.
http://atwonline.com/security/reports-us-seeks-more-pre-clearance-facilities-europe?
