Furbish border preclearence
The Furbish government operates preclearance facilities in several airports located outside The Furbish Islands. All passengers headed for The Furbish Islands, regardless of their nationality and purpose of travel, go through passport and customs inspections at the departing airport. Once in The Furbish Islands, they are treated as domestic passengers and can freely exit into the country or connect to other domestic flights but may be subject to re-inspections at the discretion of the Customs Service. This reduces congestion at passport control and customs lines at Furbish airports and allows for more seamless travel.
The first preclearance facilities were opened in 1968 at Mikkel's Port and Victoria in Greater Niagara, at the same time as two Greater Niagaran facilities in Boston and Gundsømagle. Currently Furbish preclearance facilities exist in Agnia, the Antarctic Circle States, Fort PP, Gagium, Greater Niagara, Hrvada, Los Angeles, Perlsienne, Saint Sienia, and Zarare, with plans to expand the program to more countries.
Implementation
An agreement first needs to be made between The Furbish Islands and a host country. The airport is then responsible for building the facility from which only planes bound for The Furbish Islands can depart from, either through remodeling or building a new terminal. This new section is to include space for passport checks staffed by Customs Service officers, a security check operated by Furbish gendarmes, and an area that includes lounges, restrooms, gates, shops, restaurants, and everything else that is typically found in the airside section of an airport.
Though the precleared area is separate from the rest of the airport, it is still subject to the laws of the host country, which is responsible for policing the area. The Furbish customs officers and gendarmes are not armed and cannot search, arrest, or detain people, instead they must refer to local law enforcement.
Reasons for implementation and benefits
The primary benefit of preclearance facilities to passengers is that they streamline the travel process to The Furbish Islands. Once in The Furbish Islands, passengers can simply exit the airport like domestic travelers, or transfer onto a connecting domestic flight. This reduces the risk of missing a connecting flight due to long lines in passport control, and wait times are usually shorter at preclearance stations as passengers typically enter the airport at a slow and constant rate but step off the plane all at once.
The benefit to the Customs Service is that preclearance facilities at busy foreign airports reduces congestion in passport and customs checks in Furbish airports. Fewer officers are also needed in foreign airports. Another benefit is that passengers who are denied entry into The Furbish Islands can simply go home, or have a return flight from the host country, without the Customs Service needing to arrange a deportation flight. Similarly with illegal goods, which can be seized and may not enter The Furbish Islands.
Preclearance facilities also allow airlines to fly directly to airports in The Furbish Islands that do not have passport and customs facilities. Though this is not as big as an issue in the present day as in the mid-20th century when the program began as more airports started to build such facilities, it has been taken advantage of by budget airlines which fly directly between airports serving smaller Furbish cities and vacation destinations in Perlsienne and the Antarctic Circle States, both of which have preclearance facilities. Airlines may also fly from foreign cities to smaller Furbish airports which lack passport and customs facilities, such as XXX and XXX, freeing up landing slots in busier airports such as XXX and XXX respectively.
Drawbacks and criticisms
Preclearance facilities require a section of the airport to be set aside to only be used for flights to The Furbish Islands. Facilities are mostly built in large airports with lots of traffic to the country because of this, however it still creates some inefficiencies as more stores, restaurants, and lounges must be built which will only end up being used by a fraction of people who pass through the airport. The cost of building the preclearance area is also entirely on the airport, with the Furbish government only paying for its customs officers and gendarmes who work at that airport.
At some busy airports, preclearance facilities may end up having longer lines than passport lines in Furbish airports. This is often due to staffing shortages, which are more strongly felt at preclearance facilities abroad as those jobs are often less desirable. Another problem caused by staffing shortages is the hours of operation of passport and security checks, which often are not open on the same hours the rest of the airport is. Passengers may often by unaware of both of these, or that they have to clear customs before the flight, and as a result may not arrive in time to catch their flight. While flights to The Furbish Islands are streamlined, international connections through The Furbish Islands requires going through passport exit checks after landing, unlike passengers who were not precleared, who only need to go through security.
Another frequent criticism of Furbish preclearance facilities is that they are used to prevent refugees from entering The Furbish Islands. The Furbish government is required to provide services to all refugees who set foot in the country, however they do not have to provide services if they deny entry to refugees at preclearance facilities.
History
List
Future plans
The newest preclearance facility was opened at Playadiestat, Los Angeles, in 2020. Currently the Furbish government is in discussions with several countries, including Fluvannia, to establish preclearance facilities at airports there. The Ministry of Customs and Immigration lists the following airports that they are in talks with to establish preclearance facilities:
- TBDFLUVANNIANAIPROT
- TBDFLUVANNIANAIPROT
- TBDGAGIANAIPROT
Preclearance in The Furbish Islands
Several preclearance facilities also exist in The Furbish Islands. Gundsømagle Airport and XXX airport operate Greater Niagaran preclearance facilities, both opened in 1968. They function in a similar way to Furbish facilities described above.
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