US Customs Clearance at Abu Dhabi
PASSENGERS travelling from UAE to USA can now avoid long U.S. Customs lines as a pre-clearance facility is opened in Abu Dhabi's airport, though it has attracted criticism from US pilots and members of Congress.
They say the decision to open the facility was made mainly on the basis of funding offered by the UAE, which pays 85% of the costs associated with the operation, including the salaries of U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials.
What does Abu Dhabi get out of this? Travellers may be lured to fly from Abu Dhabi direct to the USA on Etihad Airways, the UAE's national carrier and sole airline flying non-stop between the two countries. USA already has this kind of facility in Canada and Ireland. The facility in Abu Dhabi, which allows passengers to complete U.S. customs and immigration before boarding flights to the USA, is the first in the Middle East.
Abu Dhabi is not really the busiest boarding point for US bound passengers - in fact the largest and the busiest airport is nearby Dubai which does not have a US Customs pre-clearance facility.