AUH U.S. border post boosts Etihad traffic

Etihad Airways has seen an increase in bookings with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Facility at Abu Dhabi International Airport Terminal 3.

The border post enables travellers, hailing from predominantly Muslim countries affected by U.S. President Donald Trump's recent immigration crackdown, to have their immigration and customs paperwork processed before departing from the Middle East, reducing the risk of being denied entry or detained upon arrival in the U.S., CEO James Hogan declared, a report from Arabian Business said.

“In these times of uncertainty people are moving over to Abu Dhabi to take advantage of that clearance,” Hogan said. “If you’re going into secondary search that’s better happening in Abu Dhabi than maybe on arrival in New York. So we’re seeing an increase in bookings.”

Opened in 2014, the U.S. border post in Abu Dhabi is the only one of its kind in the Middle East and part of a handful outside North America, the report stated. Etihad currently flies to the following American cities: New York, Washington, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles and San Francisco.