News
Ft. Lauderdale Members of Congress Applaud Permanent Extension of Customs Hours at Ft. Lauderdale Executive Airport
by Aviation Legal Group Editor, released on Wednesday September 28, 2005
U.S. Representatives Alcee L. Hastings (D-Miramar), E. Clay Shaw, Jr. (R-Ft. Lauderdale) and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Weston) announced today that the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) has decided to make permanent its extension of hours of operation at Ft. Lauderdale Executive Airport (FXE) from 9:00 AM-5:00 PM to 9:00 AM-9:00 PM beginning October 1, 2005. The CBP decision was made almost 30 days before the conclusion of a 120-day hours of operation extension trial period which began on June 27, 2005 after a meeting between CBP and Representatives Hastings and Wasserman Schultz and staff from the offices of Representative Shaw and U.S. Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL).
"This is a huge decision for FXE users and the entire South Florida aviation community," said Representative Hastings. "We always knew that the demand was there to justify an extension of hours. I'm ecstatic that CBP finally agreed. This extension will go a long way to helping the airport meet the growing demands of its users."
"This is outstanding news and quite an accomplishment," said Representative Shaw. "I am so pleased we were able to achieve this after working for so many years to permanently extend the hours. The permanent extension is just good common sense for so many reasons, and it shows the importance of Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport."
"This decision shows that there was a justified need for CBP to extend their hours of service at Ft. Lauderdale Executive Airport," said Representative Wasserman Schultz. "Our goal was to make flying into South Florida less of an inconvenience for citizens and visitors, and I am confident that this permanent change has accomplished just that."
For nearly seven years, Representatives Hastings and Shaw, the City of Ft. Lauderdale, and others have urged U.S. Customs to extend the agency's hours of operations at FXE. The airport is currently the 2nd busiest general aviation airport in the country and has experienced a 20 percent growth rate over the last two years. A 2004-2005 Broward County Aviation Department study showed that on a daily basis, Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport (FLL) may add as many as 40 to 110 operations on the FLL runway system due to flights being redirected from FXE due to limited CBP hours at FXE. The extension of CBP hours at FXE will allow the airport to meet increased demand and assist in the eliminating of flight diversions to FLL, immediately reducing traffic movements at FLL by as much as 6%, or nearly 8,000 flights per year.
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