pjm1300

This was posted in Arabian Business Yesterday.

Dubai to host US customs checkpoint

I am sure Delta and United are going to go nuts when they find out that Dubai Airports is going to open the service in T3 to server Emirates and will "future plan" to open a facility in T1 for "other carriers".

Thoughts?

-Phil

JTXC

Why would they go nuts? This is good in my view

thadocta

The fact that it is only in T3 for now, and maybe, possibly, in T1, at some vague point in the near to far future.

Dave

daniellam

Does this mean that Emirates A380 flights to the US will no longer be able to depart from the A gates at Terminal 3?

In the A concourse, there is direct boarding from the Business Class and First Class lounge levels.

MSPeconomist

USA immigration and customs preclearance is NOT a good thing. It requires passengers to get to the airport early and then be stuck in a holding pen after processing.

Dave Noble

I think it depends on ones passport and onward plans as to whether it is a good thing

If connecting from the same terminal as arriving in the USA, the cpnnection time requirements will drop dramatically and be a lot easier

Also, for those without US passports / APEC cards / similar , it avoids the hell that can be US immigration

LifeontheBeach

Not disputing what you said, but US Immigration when based on foreign soil can be hell as well.

An guy I know has been stopped and quizzed many times by US Immigration at the Toronto Airport by them, even though he is a regular traveller to US and has a Canadian passport and was born in Canada. One time they quiz him in details over trivia, like what his job description in Canada is, and the next time he is not even asked a question.

saveri

I don't see anything in the article about a staggered opening in T3 followed by T1. A Google search does not reveal this either. Can you tell us where you are getting this information from.

It seems that Delta and United have every reason to cry foul (if they do) as one would want a level playing field. Having said that, Dubai is the 7th largest airport for passenger traffic with multiple US flights and after Canada and possibly some of the Caribbean venues DXB would make the most sense to host US immigration.

Hyperacusis

I sincerely hope US Preclearance does not come to DXB. I have posted elsewhere that USPC in AUH was a terrible idea for a number of reasons, in that it would be more like the Caribbean USPC operations (many of which are horrendous) as opposed to the Canadian/Irish USPC operations (which are generally smooth).

Now we have evidence of the train wreck this is turning out to be: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/22363147-post77.html

USPC works in Canada because of the even flow of passengers, the majority of whom are either American or Canadian (for whom processing is generally painless and quick), as well as the Nexus agreements. It works in Ireland because of a very low volume of passengers, and the fact that visitors are generally VWP. It was always going to be a mess at AUH because:

1. US bound flights depart within a few hours of each leaving, meaning there is a mad rush of passengers trying to clear USPC/CBP at the same time.
2. The majority of these passengers are visitors, most of whom require visas, which slows down processing, causing cascading delays (see the linked post).
3. If you are a US citizen/resident, the lack of a separate line is a MASSIVE step down from processing in the US, as it means you end up waiting hours behind visitors, instead of minutes.
4. No Global Entry (which will change soon and benefit me and other members, but will not resolve the core problems).

If I were a visitor, I would certainly rather do immigration at DFW/ORD/JFK rather than AUH, which right now seems worse than hell. As I said above and in other posts on FT, there is a reason that USPC works well in Canada and Ireland. This is a vastly different environment with different circumstances, and USPC can create (and already has created) more problems than it solves.

Other reasons not to bring USPC to DXB include the separation of airlines across terminals and the lounge boarding issues it presents (will need to build a whole new lounge to accommodate this - unless you plan to have CBP work the boarding gate in existing lounges). Here's hoping Dubai thinks twice before offering to subsidize a similar operation.

678flyer

CBP clearance at most US airports is a nightmare especially for arrivals in the afternoon. My experience with morning arrivals hasn't been so bad. If all of that moves to DXB, even a 3-hr connection may not be enough.

Xlr

I don't see how this would actually reduce my wait times. I would highly prefer getting it done in the USA.

As I posted elsewhere, I've never had long wait times after EK203.

Dave Noble

From your details, it might be reasonably inferred that you travel on a US passport where wait times can be very different to those without US passports

jackiedada

I've never had long wait times with 203(10-15 mins at most). Its 201 where I've stood in the queue for 2+ hours quite a few times.

DYKWIA

Indeed, it appears that US passport holders don't like this - as it means they have to check in earlier.

However, as a non-US passport holder, I'd much prefer to wait 90 minutes in Dubai rather than 90 minutes at JFK. The worst thing about flying to the US is you know you're going to have a nightmare once you get there. I'd love to be able to enjoy the flight knowing I can just walk straight to the baggage hall after I'd landed.

Face81

Why all the confusion?

DL currently has US immigration staff stood by the check in desks at T1 to talk to you befor eyou proceed.

I can easily see a seperate set of counters set up in T3 to process US bound passengers prior to/at check in before releasing them into the airport. Not sure I understand why it needs to be done at the gate?