U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has launched a pilot program allowing seaplane pilots to clear U.S. Customs remotely at two locations in Minnesota, using an app downloaded to a cell phone or tablet.
According to a story by Dan Namowitz of the Aircraft Pilots and Owners Association, pilots can use the Reporting Offsite Arrival-Mobile (ROAM) app to clear U.S. Customs by video conference at Scott’s Seaplane Base on Crane Lake, and at the Shagawa Lake Seaplane base in Ely.
Pilots must file a flight plan using the electronic Advance Passenger Information System (eAPIS), but the ROAM app can be used to close the flight plan, Area Port Director Jason Schmelz told Namowitz.
The app, downloadable from the Apple and Android stores under CBP ROAM, is newly available to seaplane pilots as CBP expands a program already in use for small boat operators in the region, which is a popular tourism destination.