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28 March 2024

US pre-clearance in Abu Dhabi in 60 seconds

Passengers to the United States can get their US Customs and Immigration pre-clearance at Abu Dhabi International Airport in just 60 seconds. (Supplied)

Published
By Staff

All US-bound passengers flying from Abu Dhabi are now treated as domestic passengers upon their arrival in the US, thus sparing them from tiring immigration procedures after a long journey.

This is because they can get their US Customs and Immigration pre-clearance at Abu Dhabi International Airport in just 60 seconds.

Passengers flying from the UAE capital to US destinations can use the new automated passport control kiosks. Through these machines they can clear all border control procedures and process in less than 60 seconds.

These new kiosks enable passengers to submit their travel documents, biometric data and customs declaration prior to speaking to a US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer. This increases efficiency by off-loading work from the immigration counters to the kiosks.

Richard Hill, Etihad Airways’ Chief Operations Officer, said: “Since its opening in January last year, US pre-clearance has been extremely popular with passengers flying from Abu Dhabi to the United States where they arrive as domestic passengers. The process has been greatly enhanced by the introduction of automated passport control kiosks which allow passengers to pass through border controls quickly.”

US pre-clearance at Abu Dhabi Airport is the only one of its kind in the Middle East, and the UAE’s capital is one of a small group of airports around the world to offer passengers pre-clearance into the US.

Passengers from the United States, Canada and the 38 countries that are part of the US Visa Waiver Programme can use the kiosks in Abu Dhabi for self-service immigration.