Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced that, effective immediately, ports are no longer required to submit general aviation (GA) penalty and enforcement action proposals to the headquarters team for review and support prior to case initiation.
The CBP GA headquarters team handles both noncommercial operations (e.g., part 91) and those commercial operations conducted by air charter operators (e.g., part 135). Previously, coordination with the GA team was necessary before a port began enforcement actions when deficiencies and infractions were identified.
The CBP GA team will remain available to discuss any enforcement action the ports may be considering, but ports will now use their own discretion when deficiencies and/or infractions are identified. In recent years, the CBP GA headquarters team made significant efforts with the port staff and GA operators to raise awareness about our industry’s operations in order to enhance compliance and reduce confusion over regulatory requirements. NATA has worked closely with CBP to ensure strong collaboration between government and industry. Coordination between ports and headquarters was significant to meeting CBPs national security mission without impeding legitimate commerce.
NATA will continue our participation with the CBP GA team to facilitate communication and raise any concerns that arise with this new policy. We share the GA team’s optimism that our joint educational efforts will lead to reasonable management of any compliance deficiencies.
CBP provides extensive information for GA operators to assist them in meeting their regulatory obligations at https://www.cbp.gov/travel/general-aviation-processing.
In addition, CBP GA team members participate in recurring on-line forums with the industry. The events, called Coffee with Customs, are open to the members of the GA community and generally occur on a monthly basis. The next Coffee with Customs is on May 27 at 1:00 p.m. Eastern. These forums are hosted by Flight Pro International and registration is required to participate.