Beginning immediately, all Etihad Airways guests flying direct routes from Abu Dhabi to select destinations in the United States will have access to Abu Dhabi International Airport’s U.S. Preclearance facility, located at Terminal 3.

The new facility enables guests flying Etihad Airways, a flagship airline of the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.), to preclear the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) formalities before boarding their flights in Abu Dhabi. Upon arrival in the U.S., guests will be treated as though they are domestic arrivals. Shorter connection times are possible for onward flights in the U.S., with luggage arriving to the final destination.

As the first facility of its kind in the region and one of only a handful in operation outside of North America, guests flying to select destinations in the U.S. – initially Washington D.C., Chicago and New York – will have access to the CBP facility. Future U.S. destinations like Los Angeles and Dallas will also benefit from the facility.

The U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council was proud to support a preclearance facility at AUH in a July 17th Op-Ed by Business Council President Danny Sebright entitled, “Why Preclearance is Good for the U.S.”

For further information on the U.S. CBP facility at Abu Dhabi Airport, please visit: www.etihad.com/uspreclearance.