Does Edinburgh airport have preclearance for U.S. customs when returning to U.S.? Dublin had it last year and was less hectic to not deal with the lines and such in the U.S.
Posted by
New York, NY, USA
11294 posts
Currently, Dublin and Shannon are the only European airports that have pre-clearance. If you fly Aer Lingus via one of these to Edinburgh, on your return you can utilize pre-clearance to the US. If you fly nonstop from Edinburgh to the US, or via any other European airport, you can't.
Here are more details about the pre-clearance program. It now includes certain airports in Canada, the Caribbean, and the Middle East, as well as the two Irish ones: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_border_preclearance
Posted by
OP
Madison, Wi, USA
107 posts
OK, Thanks. Now I know!
Posted by
New York City, NY, USA
5678 posts
It's been a few years since I cleared customs at O'Hare on my way back to Madison, but if it has the Kiosks like JFK now has, it's much easier to clear customs than it used to be. Unless, of course, you are the last of the five planes loaded with passengers to hit the International terminal. :(
Posted by
Guernsey
734 posts
Think you mean imigration not customs?
Posted by
3122 posts
To clarify, it's really that you MUST, not that "you can utilize pre-clearance to the US" if you fly out of Dublin or Shannon to a U.S. destination. You're not allowed by bypass the pre-clearance in Ireland and do it upon arrival in the U.S. Therefore, be sure to allow extra time. Under normal circumstances it would take about half an hour, but if you're new at it, or if the kiosk you're using malfunctions, and/or if there are lots of people ahead of you it could take longer.
I believe this is passport control/immigration, not customs per se. But I could be wrong about that.
Posted by
New York, NY, USA
11294 posts
You're right, it is "must" not "can." You must go through pre-clearance to get to the US-bound flight gates.
Pre-clearance is both customs and immigration (passport control). When flying to the US, at your first US airport, all passengers, regardless of their final destination, must go through immigration, then pick up all checked luggage, then go through customs. If you have checked bags, you then deposit them at the "recheck" desk right outside the customs door. Any further US flights are then like any other domestic flights - there is no customs on further flight legs. If you go through pre-clearance, you go through both customs and immigration in the pre-clearance airport; any further US flights do not involve either customs or immigration.
I just realized, the fact that when entering the US, immigration and customs occur in the same place and one right after the other, may account for the common US usage of "customs" to mean "immigration and customs," and the fact that so many US'ers don't understand the distinction between the two.