Preclearance for US border control could be coming to UK airports, with Edinburgh airport as the front runner, if talks between the airport’s CEO, and UK and US government departments are successful.
What is preclearance?
Preclearance is a form of juxtaposed border control where destinations deploy security staff in the country of departure to take passengers through immigration and security checks before they even board any transport. This allows passengers to arrive at their destination and get straight on with their lives or continue their onward journey, rather than spend time in security queues.
At Ireland’s Dublin Airport and in Canada, passengers benefit from and are known to value this approach, with US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) teams on the ground to provide preclearance.
Edinburgh could grow a wide US network
Until now, preclearance for those travelling from the UK to the US has not been possible. But Gordon Dewar, Chief Executive of Edinburgh Airport, speaking to The Independent, has said he is in talks about the “great opportunity” it would be for a Scottish airport to put preclearance into place.
“For a long time we’ve understood the value of preclearance. We see the benefits when we look at Dublin airport and others, and we’ve been constantly growing our direct American connectivity over the previous years. So we know it’s a great opportunity,” Dewar said.
That growth in “American connectivity” means Edinburgh now boasts more transatlantic links than any other Scottish airport, including United services to to New York Newark, Washington DC and Chicago. Meanwhile jetBlue and Delta operate routes to New York JFK, and Delta flies to Atlanta and Boston as well.
This could all be just the start of a wider US network for Edinburgh, if preclearance were established, Dewar argued. “If you look at what Dublin have achieved: they’ve got a similar size population to Scotland in Ireland, and yet they’ve probably got about four times as much connectivity to the States,” the CEO said. “A big part of that is about the preclearance offer.”
Barriers
Implementing preclearance would take two to three years, according to industry estimates. Among conditions needing to be met would be the passing of new legislation to allow American officers to be deployed on British soil, plus the necessary infrastructure at the airport, including facilities for the American agents and enough post-security “airside” space for precleared flyers to wait for boarding.
“We need to get the legislation in place,” Dewar said. “Then we can start the process of actually designing and building and operating what we think will be a phenomenal new offer from Edinburgh to the rest of the United States.”
