At EAA AirVenture Oshkosh on July 23, FAA Deputy Administrator Chris Rocheleau and EAA CEO Jack Pelton introduced ‘Mobile Clear’, a smartphone-based system that will allow U.S. general- and business-aviation pilots to receive international arrival clearance without radio calls or physical paperwork. The service, now in beta at 15 airports, integrates CBP Advance Passenger Information, FAA flight-plan data and TSA no-fly checks into a single scan-and-approve workflow. Pilots will upload crew and passenger manifests, customs declarations and entry permits via the app up to two hours before landing. Once CBP officers validate the data, a digital clearance QR code is pushed to the pilot’s device; ramp staff scan the code on arrival, completing immigration and customs formalities in under five minutes. For corporate-flight departments, the app promises to cut average ground time from 45 minutes to 10 minutes, enabling same-day multi-city itineraries that were previously impractical. NBAA’s tax committee also notes that shorter on-ground intervals could reduce exposure to state personal-property tax audits triggered by overnight stays. The FAA plans phased expansion beginning January 2027, with a goal of covering all U.S. ports of entry by Q4 2027. Regulatory hurdles remain—particularly data-privacy alignment with Europe’s GDPR for inbound flights from the EU—but industry groups expect rapid adoption, similar to the CBP ‘MPC’ app used by airline passengers. Companies operating private fleets should begin testing the beta version, update operations manuals, and liaise with security teams to ensure passenger-data encryption protocols meet both FAA and CBP standards.
Source: Aviation International News
