All Etihad Airways’ passengers travelling to the US from Abu Dhabi will soon benefit from US immigration pre-clearance, the gulf carrier has confirmed.
From January 15, US pre-clearance will open at Abu Dhabi International airport for the early morning EY103 to New York JFK and EY183 to San Francisco flights.
Currently, pre-clearance is available on mid-morning Etihad flights to Chicago, Dallas Fort Worth, Los Angeles, New York JFK, and Washington DC.
The process provides travellers with the opportunity to pass through all required checks including US customs, immigration and security in Abu Dhabi airport before they board their flight to the US, enabling them to avoid queues on arrival.
Etihad Airways’ chief commercial officer, Peter Baumgartner, said: “Since its opening in January last year, the US pre-clearance has been extremely popular with air travellers, particularly those from the Indian subcontinent and middle east region.
“More than 325,000 people have passed through the facility, arriving in the United States as domestic passengers,” he added.
Last month, Etihad launched its first Airbus A380 route between Abu Dhabi and Heathrow featuring its new range of seats and cabins.
Etihad.com