Have You Heard of Preclearance?

One of the exciting 2025 travel developments for us at LM Authentic Travel is that our home airport in Nashville is getting to new Europe flights this spring on Aer Lingus and Icelandair. BNA has had a British Airways flight to London for a few years now that we have taken, but it’s great to see new flights to Dublin and Reykjavik. We’re hopeful it creates some price competition and provides new schedule opportunities heading to Europe. We have a few clients already scheduled on the Dublin flight.

One of the cool things about the Dublin flight is that Dublin is is a US Preclearance airport. If you’ve never heard of Preclearance, it’s a CBP program where you go through the customs and immigration formalities at the departure airport abroad rather than when you land in the US.

Why is this helpful?

Time Savings: You’re likely already at your international airport for a return flight early, or if you’re in transit via a Preclearance airport, there’s enough time built into your connection. So you’re definitely saving time when you return.

Convenience: If your flight arrives at your home airport from a Preclearance one – like we get for BNA coming from Dublin – you just get to exit like your flight was coming from Atlanta or Chicago.

More Seamless Travel: If you’re in transit from a Preclearance airport, you’ll enter the terminal like a domestic flight, meaning no CBP line, none of the retrieving/rechecking your bag and no additional security screening. Even if you have Global Entry (which you used at the Preclearance airport), it’s a smoother experience at the connecting airport.

Additional Itinerary Options: Because you don’t have the formalities on arrival and you’re in the domestic terminal, that means new options for easier and faster domestic connections. No more extra-long layovers to ensure you don’t get stuck!

What airports provide Preclearance?

15 airports currently participate in the program. Nine of them are the major airports in Canada (which makes transiting Toronto or Montreal more appealing if they have direct flights to your overseas destination). Other locations with Preclearance airports include Aruba, Bahamas (Nassau only), Bermuda, Ireland (Dublin & Shannon), UAE (Abu Dhabi only).

Three Tips for Preclearance

If you are traveling through an airport with pre-clearance, keep in mind these three tips:

1. Give yourself enough time. Remember, you’re doing these formalities before the flight instead of after. Watch the departure boards since they may direct you when you should go to Preclearance.
2. Use your Global Entry for more efficient entry. All the Preclearance airports support Global Entry, so you can still take advantage of those benefits.
3. Plan for your lounge access. Depending on your carrier and routing, there may not be a lounge after you go through Preclearance. Yes, some carriers have lounges after you’ve gone through Preclearance, but not all. Always check with the carrier so you know.

Looking to elevate your vacation to the next level with expert guidance? Let’s collaborate! We’re excited to offer you a complimentary consultation call to begin crafting your next authentic escape. Let’s plan something extraordinary together.