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Customs Service Returns to Van Nuys Airport

Van Nuys Airport announced Wednesday it will begin offering customs clearance and inspection services next year. The services will be provided in a dedicated facility being constructed by Signature Flight Support, a fixed-base operator at the general aviation field. Van Nuys has been without customs agents since 2006, when they were pulled from there and Burbank Bob Hope Airport for re-assignment elsewhere. That forced incoming international flights to stop at other airports, including Los Angeles International Airport, with customs service. Since 2007, officials with Los Angeles World Airports, the city agency that owns and operates the field, have worked with charter operators to get the agents back. Under the deal with Signature, the company will remodel part of its Van Nuys terminal at a cost of $225,000 to separate incoming international travelers from domestic charter passengers. The company also will pay upfront costs for hiring of customs agents to handle flights and will be reimbursed through a user fee paid by charter operators. Signature, based in Orlando, Fla. is owned by British company BBA Aviation plc. Curt Castagna, president of the Van Nuys Airport Association, a tenants group, said the return of customs will bring convenience for both operators and passengers traveling from abroad. “Clients will be able to fly directly to (the airport) without an additional stop at another airport to clear customs,” he said in a prepared statement.

Mark Madler
Mark Madler
Mark R. Madler covers aviation & aerospace, manufacturing, technology, automotive & transportation, media & entertainment and the Antelope Valley. He joined the company in February 2006. Madler previously worked as a reporter for the Burbank Leader. Before that, he was a reporter for the City News Bureau of Chicago and several daily newspapers in the suburban Chicago area. He has a bachelor’s of science degree in journalism from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

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