Expect Customs Diversions during ‘High’ Alerts

Some international business jet flights bound for three New York-area satellite airports were diverted to Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) to clear customs during the recent Orange-level security alert period. Customs officials told NBAA that the flights, from France and Mexico, were deemed sensitive enough to warrant elevated security at EWR, rather than the satellite customs facilities at New York’s Westchester County Airport and New Jersey’s Teterboro Airport and Morristown Municipal Airport. While it would not elaborate on the reasons for the diversions, U.S. Customs advised that such diversions could recur during future periods of elevated alerts dictated by the Department of Homeland Security.