We have a new contender for US Preclearance, and it is not far away from home. Delhi Airport has moved a request for Pre-Clearance facility at their airport to the government of India, a request that is going to remain a request, in my view.
What is US Pre-Clearance?
The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Preclearance involves stationing CBP personnel at designated foreign airports to inspect travellers before boarding their U.S.-bound flights. With Preclearance, travellers bypass their CBP and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) inspections upon U.S. arrival and proceed directly to their connecting flight or destination, as if they were on a domestic flight.
At the moment, US CBP has more than 600 officers and agriculture specialists stationed at 15 Preclearance locations in 6 countries: Dublin and Shannon in Ireland; Aruba; Bermuda; Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates; Nassau in the Bahamas; and Calgary, Toronto, Edmonton, Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Vancouver, Victoria, and Winnipeg in Canada.
As you can see, US Preclearance is usually given to airports closer to the US. The last time it was dished out, and the only time it went far away from the USA, was to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. That move benefits Etihad Airways.
Delhi Airport wants a US Pre-Clearance Facility.
The Times of India reports that Delhi Airport wants to offer a US Preclearance facility at the airport and has asked the Government to initiate the process. Air India has also requested a preclearance facility in the past, in fact, a decade ago. But again, this was made available to the Government of India, and things never moved.
Now, I don’t know what has changed in the calculus. The US Administration is not considering more US preclearance facilities at the moment, and significant nudging by the Government of India will be required to get it started. If I remember correctly, the UAE government picks up the tab for the outpost operation in Abu Dhabi, which means salaries and other expenses. Will this be an arrangement similar to one that is acceptable in the Indian context? The area occupied beyond the US CBP post is considered US-controlled, and US laws apply. Does that work?
The bottom line is that this is far from a done deal. India got itself included in the list of countries that get Global Entry. That was a long, long process in itself. This will be one of those that might be as long or even longer. At the end of it, will they realise the costs far outweigh the benefits?
Bottomline
GMR’s Delhi Airport expects the Government of India to front their request for a US CBP Preclearance at their airport. This has been put out as a done deal, though it is a long way to go now. A similar desire was expressed by Air India a decade ago, for both Mumbai and Delhi airports, and that went nowhere. We will see where it goes this time around.
What do you think, do we really need a US CBP outpost in India? And will it be realised anytime soon?
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The idea that the host nation “picks the cost of the preclearance post” is complete myth. Some basic costs of the actual facility and duty time are borne by the host, but the cost of the personnel moving to Abu Dhabi (or wherever), living in Abu Dhabi, the cost of schooling of dependent children in Abu Dhabi, etc., are picked up by the DHS in the United States. This is what Americans call the “Gravy Train,” and is greatly desired by government workers who generally live a much more modest and often more boring lifestyle in typical American cities than they would at any overseas posting. The DHS personnel get a huge increase in the quality of their lifestyle, while travelers are deprived of normal departing airport facilities and instead get stuffed into lousy “pre-clearance” lounges and rarely save any time – if there are immigration delays it just means that the entire plane is subject to them while they hold departure until all passengers have cleared. This is an excellent deal for government workers, a terrible deal for American travelers, and a worse deal for taxpayers – and that’s how most things in the United States work.
not to mention the ease of domestic connections landing into USA cleared… if this it happens it could be huge for AI
What this really means is that the US government personnel who are necessary for pre-clearance would like the opportunity to live in Delhi in luxury they could never have at home, at US Taxpayer expense – and who can blame them? Pre-Clearance is great for US government employees, but terrible for actual travelers who are denied of normal airport facilities at the point of embarkation to save a few moments of immigration formalities upon arrival which technology has largely made painless. I hope it doesn’t happen and that they stop it in Abu Dhabi.
@Mak, no, this doesn’t mean that. Abu Dhabi picks the cost of the preclearance post. And save a few minutes? Oh, past decade I’ve even spent up to 2.5 hours waiting to get in front of the queue. What are you talking about
Very well said, i used AUH a lot for this simple reason over others
If AI does this, then switching to this is no brainer .. consider ease for families, parents etc it will be big boss for AI