Indian air travellers, flying with Etihad Airways to the United States, can now clear US customs and immigration at Abu Dhabi Airport, enabling them to arrive in the US as domestic passengers.

The preclearance facility allows passengers to be processed through US immigration and customs, public health, and Department of Agriculture inspections before boarding their aircraft, eliminating the need to do so on arrival in the US.

Indian air travellers, flying with Etihad Airways, can now connect from Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kozhikode, Mumbai, and Thiruvananthapuram, via Abu Dhabi, to Chicago, New York, and Washington D.C.

Etihad Airways will continue to expand and build depth into its flight network in 2014 benefitting Indian air travellers, with fights to Jaipur to start in April, and Los Angeles and Dallas-Fort Worth to join the network in June and December respectively.