The Van Nuys community held a celebration on August 13 for the new U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) facility at the Southern California airport’s Signature Flight Support-West FBO. Before the new 1,528-sq-ft CBP facility opened at Van Nuys on May 21, pilots had to fly to Los Angeles International for clearance, then reposition. This has been the case since 2006, when CBP agents stopped traveling to SoCal general aviation airports to provide clearance services. Before that, international travelers could arrange for clearance at Burbank, Long Beach, Van Nuys and other local airports.
The opportunity to bring a CBP facility to Van Nuys Airport was a result of new Customs guidelines for general aviation and increased staffing at the agency during the past couple of years. The traffic mix at Van Nuys has shifted, too, with about 250 turbine aircraft based at the airport, many of which are long-range jets that frequently fly to Asia, Europe, Canada and Mexico.
“The Van Nuys Airport Association came together and asked how to make it happen and asked for political help,” said Curt Castagna, president and CEO of Aerolease Group and also president of the airport association. U.S. Congressman Tony Cárdenas, who was a Los Angeles city councilman at the time, was instrumental in making the the CBP facility possible, as were U.S. Congressman Brad Sherman and city councilwoman Nury Martinez. Although the three major FBOs on the airport are fierce competitors, they and other airport tenants banded together to support the new facility, Castagna said. “It was a team effort.”
Since opening, the new CBP facility at Van Nuys had handled 93 arrivals as of August 13, according to CBP officer Armond Hayrapetian, who runs the new operation. International arrivals can be handled from 12 to 8 p.m. Thursday through Monday; at other times, an agent can be requested by prearrangement, but with additional fees to cover overtime. There have been few after-hours requests, he said. “There’s no line here.”
Arriving aircraft must park outside the CBP facility, and in addition to screening the crew and passengers, Hayrapetian has to conduct radiation screening on the aircraft. While crews are supposed to shut down the APU during this test, it isn’t always necessary, and Hayrapetian is often able to allow the APU to remain running to keep the cabin cool. “We try to use our discretion,” he said. “We are here to help.”
To use the new CBP “designated user fee clearance facility,” aircraft operators pay fees that fully cover the cost of staffing and running the operation. Signature Flight Support collects the fees and remits them to Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA), which then pays CBP. Signature Flight Support advanced about $225,000 to build the new facility, which is located in the FBO’s building and has a ramp entrance as well as a streetside doorway. Signature has built similar facilities at its FBOs in Bozeman, Mont.; Baltimore, Md.; and other locations.
“This is a wonderful example of what has been mentioned by Congressman Cárdenas, about the public-private partnership,” said Signature president and COO Maria Sastre, “and also by Congressman Sherman. It would not have happened without the cooperation of all sectors. We are proud to host the facility, but we are more proud to be able to provide the benefit of the economic impact that it will have on the local community.”
“We’re so excited that we were able to be part of this partnership,” said Anne Maricich, CBP acting director of field operations.
Local operators and pilots are also happy to see international clearance services return to Van Nuys, nine years after it was removed from local airports. “We’re pretty fired up about that,” said Jason Middleton, CEO of Camarillo-based charter operator Silver Air, which flies international trips in large-cabin Gulfstreams.