NBAA Clarifies Canadian Border Exemption for Charters

Canada has exempted on-demand business aircraft operators from a Canada Border Services Agency’s (CBSA) Transporter Obligations Program mandate to post up to a $25,000 security for certain foreign national passengers, NBAA confirmed. The association reported that a member of its Regulatory Issues Advisory Group, YYZ Law owner William Clark, recently raised the issue with CBSA after foreign business aviation operators received letters from the agency regarding compliance.

After a review, the agency reversed its position and returned to its previous practice of exempting business aircraft charter operators. “Since the inception of the Transporter Obligations Program, not only have corporate aircraft operated under a dedicated flight department been exempt from the Transporter Obligations Program, but also corporate commercial charter operators authorized under a commercial air service authority from a foreign country,” Clark told NBAA.

NBAA expects CBSA to follow with a clarifying email to affected carriers that have been identified as “business charter flight operators.” In the future, this exemption will be determined based on size of aircraft and frequency of entry into Canada, the association added.