US and UK in talks over Edinburgh Airport '˜preclearance' plans

The plans would see Edinburgh, London and Manchester adopt preclearance checkpoints similar to Dublin's'. Picture:

Plans for the gates – which would also be introduced at Heathrow and Manchester – were first raised by the US before the election of President Donald Trump.

But they would now prove controversial given Trump’s hardline immigration policies.

The Home Office confirmed that discussions were ongoing, but stressed there had been no changes to UK immigration policy.

United is one airline that flies direct from Edinburgh to the United States. Picture: United Airlines

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It’s understood it would be years before such checkpoints were introduced at Edinburgh Airport.

Passengers using pre-clearance points would have their passports checked by US immigration officials and cleared by US customs for entry into the United States at their departure airport.

Passengers are not subject to further checks as flights arrive at domestic rather than international terminals at US airports.

United, Delta and American Airlines operate flights from the Capital to New York while budget airline Norwegian Air announced in May new routes from Edinburgh to Boston, New York, San Francisco and Washington DC from spring 2017.