As of today, international business flights arriving at New York’s Westchester County Airport (KHPN) have their choice of FBOs at which to clear U.S. Customs. Previously, all flights were required to first stop and clear at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) office in Signature Aviation’s west terminal, but with the start of a pilot program, aircraft can now be met by U.S. Customs officers on the ramp of their preferred FBO and be processed onboard with mobile technology.
According to the CBP, KHPN sees approximately 300 international arrivals a month. “There was a long-standing relationship between Signature West and Customs,” said Million Air KHPN general manager Lauren Rones-Payne. “The Customs office was built there, and it really then locked in the international traveler to clear U.S. Customs on their ramp, and after over 20 years there is now a new program that allows travelers to choose the FBO of their choice.”
Customers can specify an arrival at Signature East or West, Million Air, or Atlantic Aviation East. The only exception is Atlantic’s facility on the west side of the field, which still maintains the artificial weight restriction imposed on it decades ago.
Rones-Payne noted that arriving aircraft must request an arrival slot between 7:30 a.m. and 11:15 p.m. from Customs and file all required paperwork with the agency ahead of arrival. While the airport maintains a voluntary curfew between midnight and 6:30 a.m. for operators, Million Air participates in CBP's reimbursable services program, which allows incoming aircraft to clear customs outside of normal operating hours. The location is also modifying one of its ground-floor conference rooms to accommodate customs use if additional screening is required.
Aboard the first aircraft to clear customs at the Million Air facility this morning were the company's CEO, Roger Woolsey; its COO, Chuck Suma; and their spouses. "Now that an aircraft can land at Westchester and have Customs meet them at the stairs of the [business] aircraft just like they do in many other cities, it will make these companies more efficient, much faster," Woolsey told AIN. He added that the company went to great lengths to make its KHPN facility—which opened in 2019—a welcoming center for the area and the Northeast region in general. He believes having Customs service available on the ramp will only improve that perception. "It's a real game-changer," he concluded.