The U.S. Department of Homeland Security''s plans for expanding immigration pre-clearance to 10 new airports worldwide, including London Heathrow, has been approved by American Airlines.
Media reports recently said that nine countries are currently into discussions with the United States over the immigration pre-clearance issue. Negotiations are in the final stages and each country will soon be signing agreements. The countries include the UK, Turkey, Sweden, Spain, Norway, Japan, Belgium, the Netherlands and the Dominican Republic.
The reports said that the immigration pre-clearance is also set to be expanded at both London Heathrow and Manchester airports in the UK. The other airports being considered by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for this facility include Istanbul Ataturk, Stockholm Arlanda, Madrid-Barajas, Amsterdam Schipol, Tokyo Narita, Punta Cana and Brussels.
There are presently 15 airports spanning in six countries where immigration pre-clearance facility is available. The air locations include Abu Dhabi, Winnipeg, Vancouver, Ottawa, Montreal, Halifax, Edmonton, Toronto, Calgary, Bermuda, Nassau, Freeport, Aruba, Shannon and Dublin. A total of over 16 million passengers were cleared through pre-clearance facilities at these airports in 2014.
Robert Isom, CCO of American Airlines, said, has expressed delight and said that the airline favorably responds to this significant step. While talking to mediapersons, he said that the expanding of immigration pre-clearance is undoubtedly an important step forward toward the improvement of the overall travel experience for the airline''s customers so that they may get to their respective destinations even faster. He said that Secretary Jeh Johnson and the Obama administration''s plans need to fully supported.
PASSPORT & VISA PROCESSING