Being as Punta Cana and Puerto Plata are so far from one another, I tend to doubt that PC would take much business away from POP.
But time tell.
But time tell.
- Thread starter AlterEgo
- Start date
Flights from Punta Cana to the U.S. will be considered domestic
Dude, or whatever your are, PC ate Playa Dorado for lunch and spit it out.
Game over. Punta Cana resorts are updated every few years, Playa Dorado is a ghost town stuck in 1990.
Wait a minute !
Haven't we heard of this before/earlier?
Our local prescient tipped us off about a special US Immigration program coming soon to RD computer systems at airports.
Cdn_Gringo called this one a while back
before he was booed off the screen for stupidity.
There may indeed be cooperation between US & RD immigration, it now appears.... and a direct link to the US.
Haven't we heard of this before/earlier?
Our local prescient tipped us off about a special US Immigration program coming soon to RD computer systems at airports.
Cdn_Gringo called this one a while back
before he was booed off the screen for stupidity.
There may indeed be cooperation between US & RD immigration, it now appears.... and a direct link to the US.
The Amsterdam airport Schiphol is also part of this program.
From the information in the newspapers here, the purpose is mainly to keep undesirable elements away from US shores.
Any other effects are a bonus.
From the information in the newspapers here, the purpose is mainly to keep undesirable elements away from US shores.
Any other effects are a bonus.
Preclearence is not done on DR immigration or in their computers.
This is a separate system, separate booths, separate everything. It's like teleporting CBP booth and a 3 meter perimeter from USA to a preclearance airport, with all the bells and whistles, computers, fingerprint scanners, etc.
If this is implemented this will NOT be done by any DR official, these will be CBP agents and all their machinery imported from USA and working within the airport's specific isolated area, which will be the "pre-clearance zone".
It will look like this:
You check in, pass the DR immigration with all your bags, proceed to an isolated sterile area where you first have to pass the US CBP immigration side, then pass the CBP customs side, then hand off your bags, then pass security screening with carry on bags, and finally you arrive to your departure gate.
The whole airport will need to be redesigned for this flow.
Because currently before you reach DR immigration you pass through security and carry on screening. This part will need to be removed and placed past CBP customs, because you cannot screen all those heavy bags that go for check-in on the current screening posts.
There will need to be two systems, or a system similar to some European airports with security and screening of carry-ons at the gate. Either way, substantial changes to airport passenger flow will need to be undertaken, and this is not an overnight proposition. Even if an agreement is signed this will materialize only in a few years into the future.
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Exactly.
And the costs to re-configure and accommodate all this, including the salaries of the 10-20 people necessary to carry this out, are not borne by the US.
Respectfully,
Playacaribe2
rubio and PC, please tell us what you think is the point of these initiatives. i think Merengue mentioned something about keeping undesirables off US soil.
thoughts, please.
thoughts, please.
If I may,
In addition to restricting 'undesirables', the reduction of Border personnel is an issue.
Can/USA promote the NEXUS and Global Entry options.
This ultimately reduces border staff.........
same applies here.
I could argue that it is equivalent to 'Out Sourcing'..... shovel the costs elsewhere
In addition to restricting 'undesirables', the reduction of Border personnel is an issue.
Can/USA promote the NEXUS and Global Entry options.
This ultimately reduces border staff.........
same applies here.
I could argue that it is equivalent to 'Out Sourcing'..... shovel the costs elsewhere
By having customs and border enforcement in PC, they will be able to deny entry/boarding to people who may have gotten on the plane who shouldn't have and are now being detained and repatriated back from the US.
And yes you might call it outsourcing.....but they will be US CBP people paid for by the respective countries that are enrolled in the program.
Benefits to US citizens include a reduction of long customs/immigration lines at certain airports (think FLL).....and why do they seem to have all the international flights arriving within minutes of one another. However, if lots of US bound airlines are scheduled to leave PC at the same time....you might be trading a wait in FLL for a wait in PC.
The real benefit is to the DR and PC itself. A lot more charters can now bring in tourists from secondary airports not serviced by CBP.
PC is one of 10 other airports worldwide to begin the process.....and it will take some time for implementation. Expectations are that PC will NOT be up and running this year.
And there are no other plans to service any airports beyond the 10 currently identified for implementation.
Respectfully,
Playacaribe2
Nassau also has US immigration clearance, and I have just cleared it, such that my connection to Santo Domingo later no longer involves joining those hideous long lines at immigration and customs in Miami and I go straight into the departure zone.
The way it has been set up in Nassau is that you hand in your immigration departure card at check in......there were no further Bahamas immigration checks....would this be the case in Punta Cana?
You then pass security which is no different to anywhere else but controlled by Bahamian agents. After that you enter a dedicated US Border Control area, and in the case of US and ESTA permit holders complete the immigration process on the units that you get at Miami and get a receipt when cleared and walk down to a Border Control agent who verifies the receipt visually and sends you on your way into the departure lounge.
Zero queues today for me, real quick and no Miami horrendous queuing ahead.
Lucky PC travelers once the system starts.
The way it has been set up in Nassau is that you hand in your immigration departure card at check in......there were no further Bahamas immigration checks....would this be the case in Punta Cana?
You then pass security which is no different to anywhere else but controlled by Bahamian agents. After that you enter a dedicated US Border Control area, and in the case of US and ESTA permit holders complete the immigration process on the units that you get at Miami and get a receipt when cleared and walk down to a Border Control agent who verifies the receipt visually and sends you on your way into the departure lounge.
Zero queues today for me, real quick and no Miami horrendous queuing ahead.
Lucky PC travelers once the system starts.
Many years back, JetBlue's requirement to enter the Dominican Republic was that the country have pre-clearance, which would shorten their turnaround time. At the time, my husband and I lobbied intensely with PUJ and Rainieri to push this through, and it almost made it to the final step in Washington, D.C.
The DR was not aggressive about it because one of the main reasons given was that PUJ preferred to spare itself bearing the burden on the total tourist experience of the extra time for US clearance that the tourists would have when departing the DR, leaving the lines and longer time clearing for the destination airport. Eventually, Washington itself stopped issuing the pre-clearance permits.
Times have changed and the US opened up for more pre-clearance stations. PUJ was chosen for its volume of operations. And the good news is, from what I have reading here, that apparently the procedures have been made more efficient.
Pre-clearance granting is a credit to PUJ and surely will result in the airport getting more flights which will then pay for the cost of operating the US station. PUJ will strengthen its position as the most important Caribbean hub.
The DR was not aggressive about it because one of the main reasons given was that PUJ preferred to spare itself bearing the burden on the total tourist experience of the extra time for US clearance that the tourists would have when departing the DR, leaving the lines and longer time clearing for the destination airport. Eventually, Washington itself stopped issuing the pre-clearance permits.
Times have changed and the US opened up for more pre-clearance stations. PUJ was chosen for its volume of operations. And the good news is, from what I have reading here, that apparently the procedures have been made more efficient.
Pre-clearance granting is a credit to PUJ and surely will result in the airport getting more flights which will then pay for the cost of operating the US station. PUJ will strengthen its position as the most important Caribbean hub.