Traveling from Brussels to the U.S. is about to get easier, although it will take more than a year to accomplish the feat. Last week, the Belgian government approved a plan to pre-clear passengers bound for the U.S. at Brussels Airport in Zaventem instead of at their first point of entry into the U.S.
Great, a pre-clearance plan is approved. It will be great for travelers like me, but it will take two years to institute it. Yep, we have to wait until 2024. Really?
First and foremost, there is the issue of expense. Pre-clearance in Brussels is expected to cost a few million euros. Ouch. And there are other preparatory steps to make it a reality. For example, US Customs staff will need to be transferred to Belgium and undergo training on procedures.
Capital of Europe, But Not in Flights
Brussels may be the “capital of Europe,” but it is behind other capital cities, not only in pre-clearance but in flight availability. The airport is easy to negotiate. That’s because the number of flight arrivals and departures is a fraction of what cities like London, Paris, and Amsterdam offer.
Brussels is the second most cosmopolitan city in the world after Dubai and the location of European Union headquarters. Yet, there is a shocking dearth of non-stop flights between the US and Brussels. I’m still waiting and dreaming of better flight availability. I may have to wait even longer for non-stop flights than for pre-clearance.
Most of my friends have to fly here via a second city, such as Chicago, Miami, New York, or Washington, D.C. rather than non-stop from Boston, Charlotte, Charleston, or Cleveland. It is surprising just how underserved Brussels is. Will that change anytime soon? No.
Looking for a non-stop flight from the U.S.? Your choices are Delta Air Lines from Atlanta or JFK in New York, or United Airlines from Chicago, Newark, or Chicago.
My last trip to the U.S. was to Minneapolis, which involved clearing customs and immigration in New York before catching my flight to Minnesota. It would have been so much easier not to deal with the hassle and merely walk from gate to gate with my carry-on and hop on my connecting flight. The solution: pre-clearance or a non-stop flight. But, alas, there are no non-stop flights between Brussels and Minneapolis. Or Boston…or Denver…or Los Angeles.
Why Are There So Few Flights?
So, who can I be cross with? How about Lufthansa? They own Brussels Airlines and refuse to expand the Belgian-based carrier’s routes because they want their passengers to route through Frankfurt. It’s ironic since Brussels Airport has a five-year plan called “SHIFT 2027” that includes operating fewer short-haul flights such as Frankfurt to Brussels. The shift is part of the Airport’s effort to recover the $250 million-plus it lost during the COVID pandemic as it focuses more on long-haul flights.
Apparently, fewer short-haul flights will help the Airport move closer to its sustainability goals. So, it’s time to pick up that handy little train schedule I guess. Still, I am perplexed. Brussels is such a great jumping-off point and far easier to transit than Charles De Gaulle in Paris, Heathrow in London, or Schipol in Amsterdam. You’d think there would be more international flights, especially from the United States.
A Little History on Pre-Clearance
The idea of pre-clearance is nothing new. It was first floated back in 2015. Ten airports, including Brussels Zaventem, were chosen for the program, but things moved forward slowly.
The Brussels Times reports that pre-clearance to the U.S. was proposed for 10 cities, including Amsterdam, Brussels, Dublin, Istanbul, Madrid, and Tokyo. So far, the only airport on that list offering the service is Dublin. However, travelers can take advantage of pre-clearance opportunities in Abu Dhabi, Aruba, Bermuda, the Bahamas, and Canada.
Still, even with a wait of two years, I will be one happy camper when the waiting time is at my departure site rather than my arrival point. Then, I don’t have to worry about rushing for that connecting flight. Thanks, Belgium.
Having pre-clearance to the U. S. in pretty complicated. The airport has to have a “sterile” area where passengers can wait after going through U. S. clearance, plus space for the actual inspection area. But more in the background that many passengers might not be aware of is that the U.S. has to have a formal agreement with the foreign government to allow the U. S. officers to perform their customs and immigration checks on that country’s soil. And the foreign government has to agree to take back the passengers who don’t qualify to enter the U. S., for example: expired passports, imposters, altered passports, forged visas, carriers of contraband (anything from cocaine to salami), etc., etc. The foreign government has to agree to provide police protection to the U. S. officers when on duty, and to all in the preclearance inspection area and the sterile area.
I would welcome Belgium to participate in this, as well as pretty much any other friendly country. That being said, since U. S. pre-clearance has been around for decades in Canada, Bermuda, and the Bahamas, I am surprised that Canada and other countries don’t try to establish pre-clearance of their own in the U. S. Can anybody shed light on this? The only example I can think of for this would be the French preclearance done for Eurostar train boarding passengers at London’s St. Pancras Station, and reciprocal U.K. preclearance for Eurostar passengers in Paris, Brussels, and Lille.