Dubai International Airport (DIA) could be set to open the UAE’s second customs post of the United States within the next year as Washington seeks to expand its pre-clearance travel facilities around the world.
According to the US ambassador to the UAE, Michael Corbin, plans to open an immigration pre-clearance facility at DIA could be as little as 10 months away.
"It is a US government priority to extend the US pre-clearance concept around the world because it does encourage travel to the United States, ease the congestion in our airports and it provides safe travel," Mr Corbin told reporters in Los Angeles.
“We are looking at Dubai as an option. We’re looking at different places around the Middle East and around the world because this is a concept that the US government believes strongly in,” he added.
Abu Dhabi International Airport established a post in January operated by US officials who can screen passengers before they board flights, avoiding long immigration lines at the other end. According to the ambassador, 85 per cent of the costs of the facility are borne by the federal government of the UAE, although he declined to say how much would it cost for the facility to operate.
Mr Corbin was speaking at an Etihad Airways event to mark the launch of a route direct from Abu Dhabi to Los Angeles which has been heavily marketed around the new pre-clearance facility.
“I think [the Abu Dhabi pre-clearance facility] it’s a game-changer for Etihad,” said the Etihad president and chief executive James Hogan. “To clear customs in Abu Dhabi and then arrive in America after a 15-17 hour flight and walk through as a domestic customer is a major benefit because at the end of the day it’s all about time.”
However, the ambassador admitted that the establishment of a pre-clearance facility in Dubai was more complicated than its Abu Dhabi counterpart because many more airlines fly from Dubai to the US. He also said that the fact that some airlines would have to move their base to the new Dubai World Central airport was also complicating negotiations.
Speaking earlier this year, the Emirates president and chief executive Sir Tim Clark said that the move would create logistical challenges for carriers.
“It is being looked at in Dubai by the Government,” Mr Clark said. “But there are some logistical difficulties with the way we go about that in Dubai. Certain things have got to change, but it is being talked about between the two governments.”
Abu Dhabi’s pre-clearance facility, which opened in January, was the first established by the US government in the eastern hemisphere. Facilities also exist in Ireland, Canada and the Caribbean.
Etihad launched direct flights from Abu Dhabi to Los Angeles on June 1.
lbarnard@thenational.ae
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It Was Just an Accident
Director: Jafar Panahi
Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr
Rating: 4/5
Under-21 European Championship Final
Germany 1 Spain 0
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
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Director: Tom Tykwer
Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger
Rating: 3/5
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How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
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Ship name: MSC Bellissima
Ship class: Meraviglia Class
Delivery date: February 27, 2019
Gross tonnage: 171,598 GT
Passenger capacity: 5,686
Crew members: 1,536
Number of cabins: 2,217
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Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
CHELSEA SQUAD
Arrizabalaga, Bettinelli, Rudiger, Christensen, Silva, Chalobah, Sarr, Azpilicueta, James, Kenedy, Alonso, Jorginho, Kante, Kovacic, Saul, Barkley, Ziyech, Pulisic, Mount, Hudson-Odoi, Werner, Havertz, Lukaku.
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Started: April 2017
Founders: Mostafa Kandil, Ahmed Sabbah and Mahmoud Nouh
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport
Size: 450 employees
Investment: approximately $80 million
Investors include: Dubai’s Beco Capital, US’s Endeavor Catalyst, China’s MSA, Egypt’s Sawari Ventures, Sweden’s Vostok New Ventures, Property Finder CEO Michael Lahyani
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Water waste
In the UAE’s arid climate, small shrubs, bushes and flower beds usually require about six litres of water per square metre, daily. That increases to 12 litres per square metre a day for small trees, and 300 litres for palm trees.
Horticulturists suggest the best time for watering is before 8am or after 6pm, when water won't be dried up by the sun.
A global report published by the Water Resources Institute in August, ranked the UAE 10th out of 164 nations where water supplies are most stretched.
The Emirates is the world’s third largest per capita water consumer after the US and Canada.
APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits
Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Storage: 128/256/512GB
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
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Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
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Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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1.
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United States
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2.
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China
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3.
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UAE
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4.
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Japan
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5
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Norway
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6.
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Canada
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7.
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Singapore
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8.
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Australia
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9.
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Saudi Arabia
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10.
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South Korea
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