Airline industry groups oppose DHS’s plan for Abu Dhabi pre-clearance facility

Aviation industry groups are calling for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to put the brakes on plans to establish a a pre-clearance facility in the United Arab Emirates.

The DHS is considering establishing a facility at the airport in the UAE's capital city, Abu Dhabi, where travelers flying to the U.S. from pre-cleared airports could then be treated as domestic passengers when they reached customs checkpoints after landing.

But a coalition of airline and travel groups said it "would set a dangerous and unauthorized precedent" to establish a pre-clearance facility in Abu Dhabi.

Pre-clearance facilities have been established in airports in countries such as Canada, Ireland and parts of the Caribbean. The aviation groups said Abu Dhabi is different because its airport is not served by U.S. airlines.