Manchester Airport Shortlisted for Us Pre-Clearance Facility

After nearly a year since the start of the process, Manchester Airport has been shortlisted by the US Department of Homeland Security as a priority airport to host US security pre-clearance.

US pre-clearance, which allows passengers to clear immigration, customs, and agricultural inspection by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) before boarding their flight, means that passengers can avoid waiting in often lengthy queues upon their arrival in the U.S.A. International flights which have been pre-cleared can use domestic terminals at US airports, meaning passengers from those flights connecting onto onward domestic flights can do so with significantly shorter transfer times than passengers who have not been pre-cleared.

Ken O’Toole, Managing Director of Manchester Airport said: “We have been in discussion with the US Department of Homeland Security for some time about securing pre-clearance   at Manchester Airport for passengers travelling to the United States.

“It is pleasing to see we are on the priority list of airports, as a service like this has the potential to enhance the customer experience for passengers travelling to the US from the UK’s Global Gateway from the North. It will potentially make Manchester more attractive to airlines looking to start routes from the US into the UK.

“We look forward to working with both the UK and the US Governments in the coming months to ensure that Manchester remains a priority and is granted pre-clearance status.”

Only two other airports in Europe currently allow for pre-clearance, with none offering it in the UK, meaning that Manchester could be one of the first to offer this positive and beneficial service for passengers travelling from or through the UK.

With two full length runways, a catchment of 22 million people that spans as far north as Scotland and south as the West Midlands, and an existing network of 12 US routes including New York, Las Vegas, Orlando, Atlanta, Washington, Los Angeles (from 2016) and Boston (from 2016), means Manchester has and will continue to have the available capacity to meet the evolving demands of aviation, at a time when demand is extremely limited in the South East.

Manchester Airport is the UK’s third biggest airport and announced all-time record passenger numbers this year of 22.32m. It has over 210 destinations served by over 70 carriers.

Airlines that currently fly to the US include Delta, American, United, Thomas Cook, Virgin Atlantic and Thomson, plus annually Manchester Airports sees upwards of 1.3m passengers fly to the USA.