Air India’s US pre-clearance plan a ‘non-starter’

Mumbai: The government has declined to immediately allow state-run Air India Ltd to offer US-bound passengers immigration pre-clearance facility in India, a service that rival Etihad Airways PJSC offers from its Abu Dhabi airport hub.

Through pre-clearance, immigration, customs and other related inspections of international air passengers performed on arrival in the US can be completed before departure at a foreign airport.

On reaching the US, they will be treated as domestic arrivals, allowing them to exit airports without having to queue up for clearing immigration.

“A standing inter-ministerial group was constituted under the chairmanship of secretary, ministry of civil aviation, for this purpose and views of ministry of external affairs obtained in the matter,” Mahesh Sharma, minister of state for civil aviation, told lawmakers in the Lok Sabha on Monday. “However, the implications of such a measure have been found to be far reaching and therefore put in the non-starter category.”

This facility is available in many countries and has also been established in Abu Dhabi, the ministry said.

According to Etihad Airways’ website, the US Customs and Border Protection facility at Terminal 3 in Abu Dhabi airport is a purpose-built facility that allows US-bound passengers to undertake all immigration, customs and agriculture inspections in Abu Dhabi prior to departure.

Abu Dhabi airport is one of only a handful of airports outside North America that offer the pre-clearance facility. Etihad Airways uses it as a hub.

“Air India had written to the ministry to secure pre-clearance in order to compete with Gulf airlines including Etihad Airways. We are not aware about the reasons behind putting under the non-starter category,” an Air India official said, requesting anonymity.

The government must have examined the cost involved in terms of accommodating these passengers for pre-clearance facility and attached security cost, he said.

“The Indian government may have postponed the proposal considering the costs involved in security. Pre-clearance will give a big boost as this allows speedier processing when passengers arrive at the US airports,” he said.

Currently, pre-clearance operations take place at 15 foreign airports in six different countries, benefiting air passengers, airports and air carriers, in the US and abroad, according to the US Customs and Border Protection website.

Air India, the national airline, is surviving on a Rs.30,000 crore bailout from the government. The airline, which had debt of Rs.40,000 crore as of 31 March, is expected to turn around only by 2018-19.