As U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) adopts a tougher stance against operators failing to comply with agency requirements to enter the country, business aviation flight crews must be diligent in verifying the correct information to avoid difficulties on arrival, steep fines and penalties that could affect their flying careers.
Common reported mistakes include erroneous Advance Passenger Information System (APIS) information such as incorrect or missing names, genders and countries of passport issuance. CBP also notes flight crews often fail to obtain updated departure clearances or permission to land, or arrive to their port of entry outside the approved timeframe.
“While support from the back office is incredibly valuable, it is essential for the pilot-in-command to maintain oversight and give final approval to each part, person or service involved in the flight.”
Rick Gardner Director at CST Flight Services
While lack of knowledge of required procedures may be to blame, “The biggest culprit often is miscommunication between the flight crew and either their international service provider (ISP) or their dispatch,” said Juan Muniz, global regulatory services lead for Universal Weather and Aviation. “The crew believes everything is fine, but discover on arrival that something didn’t go through properly.”
Ignorance is not an excuse. “While support from the back office is incredibly valuable, it is essential for the pilot-in-command [PIC] to maintain oversight and give final approval to each part, person or service involved in the flight,” said CST Flight Services Director Rick Gardner.
Penalties start at $5,000 for a first offense, rising to as much as $10,000 for each additional error. Agents may also recommend further disciplinary action to the CBP’s General Aviation (GA) Headquarters, leading to the loss of the PIC’s Border Overflight Exemption privileges for six months. Global Entry and Trusted Traveler status may be rescinded for as long as 10 years.
“The PIC is the one uniquely positioned to ensure compliance with CBP entry requirements and is also the one with the most to lose,” Gardner added. “Errors can disrupt operations and even put the pilot’s job at risk.”
Laura Everington, NBAA director of flight operations and regulations, acknowledged U.S. entry procedures pose numerous opportunities for errors, particularly given the often-fluid nature of business aviation operations. Flight crews must verify that CBP has received the most up-to-date APIS data and departure and arrival information prior to departure.
“Even if the ISP failed to reconfirm landing rights, for example, CBP will ask the PIC if they received confirmation of the changed times prior to departure,” Everington said. “Always have the latest confirmation in hand before you take off.”
Factors including adverse weather, airport delays and inflight emergencies may push arrivals outside the approved window.
“The PIC’s first line of defense is a conversation with the person meeting the aircraft to let them know what happened,” she said. “That could potentially prevent [the officer] from recommending penalties to headquarters.”
The unofficial CBP motto, “be reasonable and responsible,” goes both ways. “Put egos aside to make the clearance process as painless as possible,” Muniz said. “This is a process that we must comply with. My biggest advice is do things correctly the first time, so you don’t have to encounter those types of situations on the ground.”
Review NBAA resources surrounding CBP procedures and regulations at nbaa.org/customs.
International Business Aviation Council Ltd.