Customs at BIA defended> Shifting international entry activity to Canada challenged

BANGOR — Bangor International Airport Director Bob Ziegelaar said Friday he was pleased to have members of the Maine congressional delegation go to bat for BIA against U.S. State Department plans that could cost local jobs.

Administration proposals that include allowing U.S. customs “pre-clearance” at Canadian airports “would be taking jobs out of American communities and out of American airports,” said Ziegelaar.

“We’ve asked the congressional delegation to intercede.”

In a joint statement released Friday, all four members of the Maine delegation urged the State Department to reconsider U.S. customs pre-clearance operations in Canada.

“Bangor International Airport is among the most important economic assets in central Maine and constitutes one of the first and most successful examples of the conversion of a former military facility to productive civilian use,” wrote U.S. Sens. Olympia Snowe and William Cohen and Reps. John Baldacci and Jim Longley Jr. in the statement.

In a letter to Daniel K. Tarullo, assistant secretary for economic and business affairs at the Department of State, the delegation expressed opposition to three proposals under consideration:

Establishing pre-clearance facilities, which allow travelers to clear U.S. customs before reaching their final U.S. destination, at Halifax International Airport in Nova Scotia, one of BIA’s main international competitors for trans-Atlantic charter flights.

Permitting international passengers who use U.S. pre-clearance facilities in Canada to bypass Canadian customs and immigration.

Permitting international passengers to use a new U.S. pre-clearance facility planned for Ottawa, rather than limiting it to flights originating in Canada.

The Maine delegation argued that introducing U.S. customs pre-clearance facilities at airports in Canada would negate the competitive advantage available for U.S. airports and threaten the success of BIA.

Ziegelaar said he has “nothing against facilitating Canadian-U.S. traffic,” but he fears losing traffic from other countries.

“We’re more dependent on this kind of traffic than other airports,” he said, pointing to the large number of charter flights served at BIA. The Bangor facility would be more affected by the proposals than other airports along the Canadian border because it is the one that is in the flight path of international flights.

The idea of pre-clearance facilities in Canada has come up periodically for about 10 years, Ziegelaar said. “It is a long-standing issue.”

The delegation’s letter to Tarullo says BIA accepts the highest proportion of international flights of any major U.S. airport, and ranks second only to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York in trans-Atlantic charters.

“Bangor attracts so many flights because of its excellent immigration and customs clearance facilities, which allow passengers to formally enter the United States while their plane is being refueled,” the members said.

The delegation members said they were especially concerned by reported comments by State Department officials that the U.S. government would give “early consideration” to a pre-clearance facility planned for Halifax. “Establishing pre-clearance at Halifax or any other airport in Canada’s Atlantic Provinces would deal a severe blow to the Bangor operation and to central Maine’s economy.”