Member's Home Forums General Discussion International Flying - General Topics Sequestration affecting CBP and Control Towers

Due to Sequestration, a number of general aviation airports will be affected due to closures or schedule reductions of Control Towers and US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) stations at many border crossing airports. If you are planning an international trip, you should pay close attention to ensure that the airport will be suitable for your arrival and that CBP will be present at the airport.

We spent considerable time today contacting the control towers and CBP stations at a number of international airport popular with general aviation pilots to determine if there were any plans for tower closures and/or CBP closures or new times. While a number indicated that everything was business as usual, several indicated that this could change and that we should continue checking.

The following list is a summary of what we learned today. However, it appears that it is subject to change at any moment, therefore you should contact the Control Tower and CBP officers at the airport you plan to use to determine what to expect and whether there will be CBP officers there to process your flight.

FL / Fort Pierce / KFPR / TOWER remains OPEN / CBP Hours reduced to 10:00 to 18:00 Local Time daily
FL / Palm Beach Intl / KPBI / TOWER remains OPEN / CBP Hours reduced to 08:00 to 20:00 Local Time daily
FL / Ft. Lauderdale Exec / KFXE / TOWER no night shift / CBP Hours reduced to 08:00 to 21:00 Local Time daily starting May 05, 2013
FL / Miami-Opa Locka / KOPF / TOWER remains OPEN / New CBP hours planned, currently 09:00 LT 24:00 Local Time
FL / Miami-Tamiami / KTMB / TOWER no change / CBP HOURS 11:00 19:00 EST (hours change due to Local Time )
FL / Key West / KEYW / TOWER no change / New CBP hours MON-SAT 08:00 TO 20:00 Local Time NO SERVICE on Sunday
TX / Brownsville / KBRO / TOWER CLOSES May 05, 2013 / CBP Hours unchanged 08:00 Local Time to 24:00 LT, after hours on request
TX / Mc Allen / KMFE / TOWER no change / CBP HOURS changed - 08:00 LT until 24:00 Local Time , no service after midnight
TX / Laredo / KLRD / TOWER no change / CBP Hours unchanged 24/7
TX / El Paso / KELP / / TOWER no change / CBP Hours unchanged 07:00 to 24:00
AZ / Tucson / KTUS / TOWER no change / CBP Hours unchanged 24/7
AZ / Yuma / KNYL / TOWER no change / CBP Hours unchanged 24/7
AZ / Nogales / KOLS / NON-TOWERED / CBP Hours unchanged 08:00 LT - 16:00 Local Time after hours on request 520-375-5785
CA / Calexico / KCXL / NON-TOWERED / CBP Hours unchanged 08:00 LT - 20:00 Local Time
CA / San Diego-Brown Field / KSDM / TOWER CLOSES May 5, 2013 / 08:00 LT - 24:00 Local Time , no service after midnight

Delays at CBP Ports of Entry.

We have personally experienced delays in Florida:

Key West, Florida (KEYW), on March 15, 2013 we remained locked inside our aircraft for 1.5 hours waiting for officers to show up despite a call from Mexico prior to departure, an update to Miami Radio in the air one hour prior to arrival and 2 telephone calls on the ground to the CBP Communications Center.

Fort Lauderdale Executive, Florida (KFXE), on March 22, 2013 we had to wait 2 hours and 45 minutes on the ground until we were able to be processed by CBP. ATC had to park aircraft all over the airport to wait for CBP to process the aircraft that were waiting. At one point there were over 25 aircraft in line on the ground waiting to be processed. To make matters worse, ATC lost control of the sequence and began clearing aircraft to the CBP ramp that had landed after aircraft that were still waiting. The radio calls that resulted from this were predictable.

We have also heard from other Caribbean Sky Tours members that these issues are also being experienced at some airports on the US-Mexico border as well. If you are planning an international trip, you should check for CBP delays at the Airport Of Entry (AOE) you plan to use.