Tue, Jun 23, 2009
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.”
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