Customs automates service at Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport
Florida’s Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport has become the nation’s first general aviation airport to introduce automated passport control (APC) self-service kiosks at its onsite U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) facility.
The new service will “expedite entry into the U.S. through an automated process that eliminates the need to handwrite a Customs Declaration form and assists passengers via a self-service kiosk to declare their citizenship, present their documents, and complete the administrative portion of the process,” said a Jan. 30 news release issued jointly by the city of Fort Lauderdale and CBP.
Those eligible to use the kiosks include U.S. citizens, Canadians, and residents of Visa Waiver Program countries. Passengers who use the kiosk service will continue to interact with a CBP officer, and remain subject to inspection.
Travelers will enter the same information they would enter on a Customs Declaration form into a kiosk, scan their passport and fingerprints, confirm their flight number, and take a photo. The kiosk then issues a receipt the traveler presents to a CBP officer at the checkout point.
There is no charge to use the kiosks, and pre-registration or membership is not required. Visa Waiver Program travelers must have Electronic System for Travel Authorizations approval, and have visited the United States after 2008.
The announcement noted that Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport also was the first GA airport to introduce a Global Entry kiosk, which allows pre-approved, low-risk travelers to expedite entrance into the United States upon arrival.
“Both the APC and Global Entry kiosks provide substantial economic incentives for airport tenants and give (the airport) a competitive advantage that further strengthens its position as the premiere General Aviation airport in the nation,” it said.
