Feb. 14, 2018
To help expedite travel for international travelers, Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport (FXE) recently become the first general aviation airport in the U.S. to introduce automated passport control (APC) self-service kiosks at the airport’s U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) facility.
“This is good for general aviation,” said Sarah Wolf, NBAA’s senior manager of security and facilitation. “NBAA is committed to working with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection to ensure that business aircraft entry and exit in the U.S. is facilitated, and we hope to see further improvements in service in the future.”
With the use of the kiosks, travelers will no longer be required to submit a handwritten customs declaration form. They will use the self-service kiosk to declare their citizenship, present their documents and complete the administrative portion of the process.
“Passengers will still speak to a CBP officer, keeping in mind that utilizing the kiosk does not exempt passengers and any articles accompanying them from foreign countries from being inspected or examined by a CBP officer,” the CBP noted in a statement.
The kiosks are available to U.S. citizens, Canadians and travelers who live in one of the Visa Waiver Program countries.
Travelers using the APC kiosks enter the same information they would provide on a Customs Declaration form. They will scan their fingerprints and passports, take a photo and confirm their flight. Travelers will receive a receipt from the kiosk, and then present that receipt to a CBP officer at check-out. The use of the kiosks is free, and no pre-registration or membership is required, although travelers in the Visa Waiver Program must have Electronic System for Travel Authorizations approval and have visited the U.S. after 2008.
Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport officials noted that in addition to being the first general aviation airport to offer the APC kiosks, it also was the first GA airport to introduce a Global Entry kiosk, which allows pre-approved, low-risk travelers to expedite entrance into the U.S. upon arrival.
International Business Aviation Council Ltd.