U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has made changes to its Electronic Advance Passenger Information System (eAPIS) to improve online filing of reports for traveling into or out of the United States.
AOPA members had reported problems and concerns with the filing system, and AOPA worked with CBP to identify issues and improve functionality in eAPIS. The improvements to the system are meant to streamline the process by eliminating redundancies and unnecessary information.
“AOPA has been working closely with CBP on this to make the process more transparent and user-friendly for the member, and these improvements are a great step in that direction,” said Brittney Miculka, AOPA manager of aviation security.
The new changes will eliminate the need to re-enter information for certain fields and make other refinements, including no longer requiring certain information about the flight crew. The 24-hour emergency contact information is now saved and will pre-fill so it need not be completed unless it has changed; check boxes are now included to indicate that the owner of the aircraft is the same as the operator, or that the address while in the United States is the same as the permanent address; a permanent address is no longer necessary for crew other than the pilot; and information about place of birth is no longer required for pilot and crew. To avoid confusion, the aircraft tail number field will no longer accept entries beginning with two numbers, to ensure pilots of U.S. aircraft include the “N” in front of the number.
Any general aviation aircraft arriving in the United States from a foreign location or departing the United States for a foreign location must submit passenger, crew, and flight information to Customs and Border Protection through eAPIS. AOPA has resources for pilots seeking further clarification about using eAPIS: Find answers to the most frequently asked questions, and take the AOPA Air Safety Foundation’s online course, Understanding eAPIS .