US to set up customs office at AUH airport

Passengers flying out of Abu Dhabi to the United States would soon be allowed to enter that country with the need to go through long airport entry and customs procedures when a US government travel office is opened at the emirate’s airport.

The UAE and the US have been locked in negotiations to set up the travel and customs office at the Abu Dhabi international airport to facilitate entry to the US by passengers flying from the capital, according to UAE ambassador in the US Yousuf Al Otaiba.

Quoted by Arabic language newspapers, Otaiba said the facility would benefit passengers flying aboard the Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways.

“This office will be opened by the US authorities and it will make travel to the US much easier for passengers as they will not be subjected to the normal entry and customs procedures at US airport…this office will handle such issues,” he said.

Otaiba said the two sides have been negotiating the project since last year and that the office could be launched in 2013. He said it would give a strong push to travel between the two countries, noting that more than 140 flights are already in operation every week, mainly by Etihad and Dubai-based Emirates.

Otaiba said the UAE, the second largest Arab economy, is the largest Middle East market for US, with its imports from that country standing at $15.9 billion in 2011.

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