Important Take Action-US Customs in Abu Dhabi
This applies to just about every US based commercial pilot. I encourage everyone to participate in this call to action.
Source: ALPA
The U.S. and United Arab Emirates (UAE) governments are in talks to create a new U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) preclearance facility at Abu Dhabi International Airport—and Etihad Airways’ CEO is “confident” they will succeed. An Abu Dhabi CBP preclearance facility may be great news for state-owned Etihad, but for U.S. pilots, it means just another competitive advantage handed to foreign airlines by flawed U.S. policy. The good news is we have the ability to stop this proposal—by contacting the White House today and telling the administration that this proposal represents a serious threat to our jobs and the U.S. airline industry.
Why would a new preclearance facility in the UAE be so bad for U.S. pilots? By allowing passengers flying to the United States from Abu Dhabi to clear customs while still in the UAE, Etihad Airways provides a hefty convenience for its customers and an advantage over U.S. carriers competing with Etihad to attract the rapidly growing numbers of passengers flying from the Middle East and Asia. There is currently no service via a U.S. carrier to Abu Dhabi, meaning the new preclearance facility will only benefit Etihad—and that jeopardizes your career by strengthening a competitor and disadvantaging U.S. carriers. The United States already operates 15 preclearance locations in Canada, Ireland, and the Caribbean, but each of these airports are served by at least one U.S. airline and much of that traffic to the United States is flown by U.S. pilots.
What’s more, DHS is also seeking permission from Congress to provide more preclearance facilities to foreign governments that will pay. If successful, this “money talks” policy could lead to more U.S. handouts to our competitors. Tell the White House today to end this proposal for a CBP preclearance facility in Abu Dhabi and in other airports around the world that benefit our competitors and threaten the stability of the U.S. airline industry.
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If your pilot association is communicating on this matter, participate. If you wish to communicate directly with the White House, here is a link:
Contact the White House | The White House