Three Essentials For Your International Ops Toolbox

If you fly business jets internationally, the annual NBAA International Operators Conference, held this year in Austin, Texas, is undoubtably high on your “must do” list. If you are an international ops geek like me, you don’t want to miss the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) session. The world of CIQ—Customs, Immigration and Quarantine—is never static and it pays to keep up. This year’s CBP session did not disappoint.

Laura Everington, Universal Weather and Aviation's international ops expert, has been an audience favorite for years. She began her talk this year with this: “If you don’t have these three things in your toolbox, I don’t know why.” She then mentioned the three items so quickly that the audience was abuzz. “Do you know about all three?” I was asked from those seated around me. I had to admit I was two-for-three.  

“You may not need them at this moment,” Everington continued, “but when you do need them, they can make your operations so much smoother. In some cases, they allow you to do things you cannot do otherwise.” By the time she was finished, I realized I needed to research all three items just to make sure I was fully up to speed. Here is what I found out.

The Visa Waiver Program
Everington’s first “must have” toolbox item is the Visa Waiver Program (VWP). My first experience with the VWP was while flying internationally under Part 135. I had to ensure my passengers were U.S. citizens, had a visa, or were from one of the countries covered by the program. A foreign national could enter the U.S. under the VWP without a visa for up to 90 days on a signatory carrier.

When I moved to Part 91 operations, which was not part of the program back then, I stopped thinking about the VWP until one of my passengers got caught by it. We flew seven members of our company from Massachusetts to Toronto for an overnight stay with a return the next morning. As the crew’s first officer, I busied myself with cockpit chores while the captain, who had never flown under Part 135, inspected each passenger’s passport before we departed. 

I looked at our manifest while we were en route and spotted a passenger’s name that I didn’t recognize.  The passenger was a British national. I suspected we had a problem, but I wasn’t sure. After we landed, I gathered everyone’s passport and noticed our British passenger had arrived in the U.S. under the VWP, flying in on a British Airways flight. The Canadian customs officer met us at our aircraft, okayed everyone, and was on his way.  

The captain was less than eloquent answering my first question after the passengers departed. “Visa what?” After a few phone calls we verified the bad news. Our passenger was allowed to leave the country on a carrier not covered by the VWP but could not enter (or reenter) except via an authorized VWP carrier. Our British passenger could not return with us to the United States.

The next year, Part 91 operators were allowed to apply for participation in the VWP as signatory carriers. We were granted status as a VWP signatory carrier and the issue has become a non-issue for us.

If you expect to fly foreign nationals from one of the 40 VWP countries into and out of the U.S., joining the VWP is a must.

• Countries that participate in the VWP include: Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Chile, Czech Republic, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom.

Even if none of your regular passengers travel under the VWP, you should consider joining. The application process is easy, you only need to renew every seven years, and it is free. You can sign up at the CBP website: https://www.cbp.gov/travel/international-visitors/business-pleasure/vwp….

Southern Border Overflight Exemption
Everington’s second needed tool is the Southern Border Overflight Exemption (SBOE). I learned about this during my first flight from Mexico to the U.S. as a civilian pilot, where I learned the intricacies of 19 CFR 122.23, which said that unless qualified for an exemption, “subject aircraft must land for CBP processing at the nearest designated airport to the border or coastline crossing point.”  

So, while making the short hop from Toluca International Airport, Mexico (MMTO) to Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport (KIAH), we would have to land at Brownsville South Padre Island International Airport (KBRO) in Texas first. We were unable to avail ourselves of the SBOE because not all of our crew (me) or passengers were listed on our existing exemption.

SBOE rules were later relaxed so that if at least one crewmember and one passenger were listed in the SBOE application, the aircraft could overfly the first border airport. That led to the common Part 135 trick of classifying the flight attendant as a passenger for all return flights.  Today, none of the passengers need to be listed on the exemption and the pilots and cabin crew need only be approved through the Advance Passenger Information System (APIS). Since you must be APIS cleared anyway, you will more than likely be eligible for the SBOE.

The application process is listed in 19 CFR 122.25, doesn’t take long, and the exemption lasts two years. As Everington made clear, having an SBOE is an essential part of any international operator’s toolbox.

Reimbursable Services Program
Of the three “must haves” in Everington’s toolbox, the Reimbursable Services Program (RSP) is the only one I had never heard of. The CBP started the RSP in 2013 to address the need for expanded operating hours or to bring on extra staff to meet increases in passenger and cargo volume at selected facilities. The program essentially reimburses the applicable CBP office using payments from the requesting partner. For us in business and commercial aviation, this provides access to many of our Airports of Entry (AOE) where we need CIQ services outside of normal operating hours.

Started with five partners, RSP has grown to more than 250 participants, mostly airlines, FBOs, and international service providers, such as Universal Weather & Aviation and Flight Pro International. Though I had never heard of RSP, my company had been reaping the benefits through Flight Pro International. Starting last year, we have been able to clear customs at Teterboro Airport (KTEB), New Jersey, outside of normal operating hours. Our cost has been about $1,300 per occurrence, allowing us to arrive at a time of our choosing.

Your company can apply for an RSP partnership directly through the CBP website. But it is probably easier to do so through your international service provider. As of 2023, Flight Pro International has approval for seven AOEs, with 16 more scheduled. Universal Weather & Aviation has approval for 55 AOEs, with five more scheduled and more to come.

The International Operators Toolbox
Judging by the reaction of the IOC audience and by the questions I fielded later in the day, it is apparent many international operators are lacking one, two or even all three of these valuable tools. If my flight department had been a member of the VWP sooner, we could have avoided the embarrassment of having to send a passenger back to our U.S. office via the airlines. We have saved a lot of flying time and money by being able to overfly the first airport of entry because of our SBOE. Our schedule has been constrained over the years because we were not able to clear customs at a time of our choosing.  Now, with the RSP, the constraints at some of our airports have been eased.  

To borrow Everington’s advice, if you don’t have these three things in your toolbox, I don’t know why.