Aer Lingus flights NOT clearing US Immigration in Dublin

lc180

I've recently booked flights with Aer Lingus to Boston this July. Was under the impression all US bound flights went through pre-clearance for US customs & immigration in Dublin prior to leaving. Turns out for the next 6 months that is not the case, certain flights will be going through the process when arriving in the USA.

No big deal really but I always felt its a bit quicker and less hassle clearing immigration this side of the pond.

I didn't see it mentioned anywhere so just thought I'd share the info - Link

Please note that from from 31 March 2013 to 26 October 2013 the following flights clear US Customs and Immigration on arrival in the US, i.e. these flights are not subject to pre-clearance at an Irish airport.
Please proceed to the published Boarding Gate not less than 45-minutes before Departure.


Flight Number
EI 125 Dublin --> Chicago
EI 137 Dublin --> Boston
EI 139 Dublin --> Boston


From 31 March 2013 check-in for all transatlantic flights will close 75 minutes before scheduled departure time for Economy Class passengers and 60 minutes before departure for Business Class passengers.

coylemj

It looks like the US Immigration facility in Dublin airport is not being beefed up to cope with the extra summer traffic. This in turn is probably caused by budgetary constraints in Homeland Security as all of those CBP officials are on assignment which involves relocation allowances, rent etc.

Thanks for the 'heads up'.

ProudDUB

lc180 wrote: »

No big deal really but I always felt its a bit quicker and less hassle clearing immigration this side of the pond.

It is a very big deal, if you presumed that you'd pre clear Customs and Immigration in Dublin, and you booked a connecting flight with a shorter connection time than you would have, if you knew that you may need 1-2 hours to clear Immigration in the US. Boston is ok, but O'Hare can be a bloody zoo if yours is one of a dozen international flights that land at the same time.

BuffyBot

coylemj wrote: »

It looks like the US Immigration facility in Dublin airport is not being beefed up to cope with the extra summer traffic. This in turn is probably caused by budgetary constraints in Homeland Security as all of those CBP officials are on assignment which involves relocation allowances, rent etc.

Thanks for the 'heads up'.

It's also to faciliate all the JFK flights, which have to pre-clear now that Aer Lingus have moved to T5 at JFK.

Bigcheeze

75 minutes check in for TA flights that don't pre-clear! Crazy.

coylemj

Article in today's UK Independent on long queues at stateside US Immigration passport desks ......

Welcome to America: now stand in line for three hours. Millions of British holidaymakers and business travellers heading for the US this summer face longer waits than ever to be processed by immigration.

Research by The Independent reveals that budget cuts at US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have sharply increased airport queues, with the worst delays in the "Sunshine State" of Florida.

The longest maximum average wait time for international arrivals at Miami airport rose last month to three hours, six minutes - a jump of almost half an hour on March. Travellers to New York JFK, and Dallas-Fort Worth risk waits exceeding two hours.

http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/heading-for-america-prepare-for-the-longest-us-immigration-queues-ever-8621576.html

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.

mikewest

Just to reinforce in peoples minds,

I was on a re-routed flight into Los Angles (LAX) last week. I had three hours to catch my connection but missed it due to the immigration queue and we were expedited through the queue at that!

finbarrk

Fly from Shannon. Get it all done in a couple of minutes.