Customs 'Needs Some Work' On GA Procedures

Following a Long Beach, CA, incident in which a pilot and his passengers were ramp checked at gun point by local law enforcement officers and Customs and Border Protection officials, Aviation associations, including AOPA, have reached out to customs to prevent a repeat.

“Having weapons drawn at the ready without just cause is extreme,” said AOPA Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Craig Spence. “Customs has indicated that this type of ramp check is atypical and that pilots do not need to worry about similar forceful inspections.”

Pilots could, however, notice an increase in routine ramp checks at airports along the southwestern U.S. border. The Obama administration released a new National Southwest Border Counternarcotics Strategy June 15 to reduce drug trafficking and the flow of cash and weapons across the border. The initiative applies to air, maritime, and ground transportation.

The association also claims to be working with customs to ensure that general aviation passenger manifests collected through its Electronic Advance Passenger Information System (eAPIS) are not used beyond the intended scope of terrorist watch list matching.

“AOPA will continue to work with the Department of Homeland Security and customs to find practical and workable alternatives to enhance security that do not unduly restrict GA operations,” Spence said. “In the meantime, we encourage pilots to continue with their planned international flights.”

FMI: www.customs.gov