U.S. wants to extend preclearance to Narita

The Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Customs and Border Protection unit said Friday it wants to expand its preclearance program to Japan’s Narita International Airport, which would allow visitors from Japan to clear customs and immigration before getting on the plane.

Preclearance would allow visitors arriving from Tokyo’s Narita airport to spend less time in Honolulu Airport upon arrival, and airlines would be able to fly direct from Narita to neighbor islands. This would help tourism officials in their bid to restore a direct flight from Japan to the Kona airport on Hawaii island, which has no nonstop flights to Japan.

“Preclearance would allow for direct travel from Narita to the neighbor islands without having to transit at Honolulu International Airport, currently the state’s only airport with Customs and Border Patrol,” said George Szigeti, president and CEO of the Hawaii Tourism Authority. “It would also provide relief for other international travelers to the state, lessening the total number of visitors having to go through customs in Honolulu.”

Homeland Security said efforts to create a faster, more traveler-friendly process for international visitors cut average wait times by 13 percent at the top 10 airlines last year.

“Preclearance at Narita, one of the busiest international airports in Asia, will provide greater ease of access and save time for travelers departing Japan when they arrive in the Hawaiian Islands,” Szigeti said.

Preclearance is already available at 15 locations in six countries, but not yet in Japan. U.S. Customs has more than 600 law enforcement officers and agriculture specialists stationed at those locations, and they cleared more than 16 million passengers last year.

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson said Friday the U.S. intends to enter into negotiations to expand air preclearance operations to Narita and nine other foreign airports, one each in Belgium, the Dominican Republic, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and Turkey, and two in the United Kingdom.

“Expanding the preclearance program is both a security imperative — enabling CBP to stop potential threats before they arrive on U.S. soil — as well as a strong economic opportunity,” Homeland Security said in a news release.

The state’s top political leaders praised the decision.

“We’ve been pushing for preclearance for two years, and it has gone from pie in the sky to reality,” said U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz. “This is the first step towards making it a lot easier for Japanese visitors to come to Hawaii. Although work remains to be done, this also has enormous implications in terms of our efforts in es-tablishing direct flights from Japan to Kona.”

U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono said in a news release: “The fact that the United States will go forward in working to expand preclearance to Japan’s Narita International Airport is good news for Hawaii’s tourism industry, the economies of our state and nation, and visitors from Japan who are eager to visit Hawaii.”

Gov. David Ige said in a statement: “It would provide our valued Japanese visitors with a more pleasant arrival experience by alleviating congestion at the Honolulu International Airport, the state’s only international airport and currently the country’s fourth busiest international port of entry. Easing access will encourage travel to the neighbor islands and repeat visits to our beautiful state.”