Hello Backcountry Pilots,

We are planning a fight to Alaska next summer so I want to take a dry run at the Canadian border to work out all the kinks with Canadian and US Customs. My plan is to fly up to Crawford Bay, BC located on Kootenay Lake, an awesome place. First I will have to clear Canadian Customs at Porthill, Idaho, a grass strip (cool).

In Porthill, I will have to pay $25 for a non-resident firearm declaration to the Canadians since I will need my rifle to hunt in Alaska. This authorization is good for only 60 days, but I’ve been through this process before and it’s no big deal. Then after landing at Crawford Bay, BC all I got to do is close my flight plan by phone or radio.

Flying back into the US is where the real pain in the ass starts! A pilot has to file on-line with eAPIS, an electronic traveler manifest. eAPIS also requires another password and log-in to forget. This filing process cannot be done over the phone, or radio. So if you depart an airport without internet, your just out of luck. The US Customs also will not accept an enhanced drivers license, or birth certificate either, only a passport. A new US passport cost me $95, and I’ll have to buy a US Customs aircraft sticker for another $25 too. The US customs sure make it difficult to get back into the country to pay more taxes.

This electronic/internet filing procedure for the US Customs is ridiculous. A pilot departing from a remote location or anywhere without internet access is screwed. Has anyone had problems with this eAPIS system?

We plan on clearing Customs at Penticton, BC and Northway, Alaska on our trip and I was wondering if there was anything I should know about these ports of entry? Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

James
Spokane
Porthill, Idaho & US/Canadian Customs

Crawford Bay, BC

Had a long chat w/ the Feds on this one. I was surprised at how helpful they were. Not helpful enough to totally ash can the whole process but still pretty helpful.

They evidently have been beat up on this regularly and have come up with this plan.

File both ways upon departure with a "best guess" return time. When you are ready to return call them on a land line or via NAV Canada to modify your return ( 2 hr lead time). However, I am not too sure Nav Canada is down with this.

Changing arrival time is supposedly no big deal, but you definitely cannot change your passenger manifest over the phone or radio.

Best I can tell Canadian customs really doesn't care as long as you are not carrying handguns or contraband.

Don't forget you have to use eAPIS to leave the USA, not just to reenter it.

And yes Canadian customs is much preferable to ours but that doesn't mean they are pushovers. I've had to submit to a full inspection more than once. Maybe I look suspicious.

And Northway customs has to drive a distance from their vehicle checkpoint for aircraft inspections and can be crabby if you are the least bit late. And they are apparently not going to have extended hours this summer which is a real bummer.

It really is much more of an emotional hassle than the reality. E-Apis is very easy after you figure out what they want and the form prompts you pretty well. The golden rule is don't arrive earlier than your e-apis filing! You can amend your arrival time late by phone to the customs office you will be visiting. Canadian customs is also pretty straightfoward. They need 2 hrs notice instead of the 1 hr for US Customs. Again, you can update your arrival time via phone to meet their rather loose =+/- 15 minutes. If you land early you must wait for your "arrival time" then if nobody shows up you call CA customs and they will give you a number and you go. As long as you are upfront with what you declare, no handguns or over 2 liters of liquor you are safe.

As far as Penticton goes, very nice. Small airport and the customs office is open M-F. IF you have a Can Pass permit you can still clear there even though the customs office is closed. I am not sure if you can use Penticton on the weekends if you don't have a permit. Kelowna and Kamloops are also AOE's and again, very easy so no big deal. Only problems I have ever heard about CA customs is if you have had a run in with the law in your past. They can come up with some pretty trivial shit at times.

With over 200 border crossings to date, US Customs have consistenly been great. Let them know what you are doing and when you are doing it and you should not have any issues. Good luck.

EAPIS is frustrating and wastes more time than it should. With respect to Canada, the process could be simpler if the US and Canadaian gvts. would agree on the format and informational requirements for each country so this one electronic filing would satisfy both countries.

It is a good idea to log into the EAPIS system a week in advance of your departure if you haven't for an extended time because the system may require you to enter a new ID or password - another "security" layer. If you attempt to file the day of your departure you may find this could delay the process.

If you encounter any problems you can phone the customs office at your departure border crossing location for assistance. My last filing experience involved helping two friends file individual notices. One guy ran into a malfunction that required several calls and lots of holding the line while the agent solved the problem and completed the filing. I say let them do this work - it's their system and they can make it more intuitive if they don't like wasting THEIR time trying to use it.

When flying to/from Alaska, I like to file both notices of arrival and departure at the same session at the computer. This eliminates a need to find internet access later. I estimate my arrival ETA assuming the best weather and shortest time scenario. There is no concern about arriving later but don't create a problem for yourself by arriving early. I know approx. when I'll arrive back into the US AOE just prior to departing from the last Canadian airport. After filing my Canadian flight plan I'll phone the CBP and advise them of my ETA (this may not be a toll free phone call). I purchase decals at the US AOE at the time I arrive. I've found it easier than navigating their website.

Northway agents have been very friendly to me - wish I could give the agents in Bellingham a similar compliment. I can't imagine they understand or even respect what it's like to fly this VFR route - it's great fun and typically uneventful but nonetheless a demanding journey, and their surly gripes and warnings aren't nearly as concerning to me as the thought of crashing my plane in the Canadian wilderness....I don't mean to rant...but if I did let me say one more thing, the CBP never gives one peace of mind after even a perfect EAPIS filing regarding potential future issues they may have, known or unknown. CBP never tells you that you are permitted to cross the border(s) and that your filing has been done correctly. They won't tell you if your passengers are permitted to cross the border. They just email "confirmation of receipt of transmission" (isn't there an easier way to say that?) and then sidestep any form of diligent response based on their pre-departure investigations. But they are crystal clear about the threat of criminal penalties and disproportionate fines for mistakes, errors, omissions or perhaps any other subjective infraction.

Canada doesn't allow you to bring certain types of produce into the country. Call CANPASS to learn about the restrictions. I once tipped my cab driver a bag of organic apples because of this.

A late October trip from AK to Whitehorse didn't go as planned and I was forced to land at Haines Jct. because of darkness. CANPASS cleared me over the phone and the gracious folks at Kluane Glacier Tours invited me to stay in their heated hangar for a few days.

Hope this helps, have a safe journey.

100% correct on you must file eAPIS leaving the US also. As said before, file both ways from home before leaving. At our US customs station in Crane Lake MN, you can come back any time on the day you indicated (earlier or later), but if you are coming back day(s) before or day(s) after you indicated your return flight, notify them in advance. In our case via radio 10 minutes before landing. I am SURE this rule DOES NOT apply to any other US Customs station, since our seems to be the most flexible in the US. Since Crane Lake deals almost exclusively with float planes coming out of the bush with no internet/phone etc, they have been gracious enough to allow us this flexibility for our return times. Also, to speed up your eAPIS, enter all you passengers in as "crew". That way they will be memorized in the system and you don't need to retype all their info each time. Once you have used eAPIS a couple of times, you will find that it really is fast. I can enter my outbound and inbound trips in about 5 minutes. Generally I have my approval back from eAPIS within another 5. Print it out, throw it in the plane, and go. Also, carry your aircraft registration with you, as well as medical and pilots license. Watch the potatoes going north, on our case they need to be in a commercial sack unopened -like you get at the grocery store. No home grown potatoes. No citrus coming back, even if it went up with you. I fly across at least a dozen times a summer, and must say that both Canada and the US are good to deal with as long as you have paperwork in order. You may want to get a transponder waiver and a round robin waiver also, expedites the crossing process. Russ

Hi James,
Porthill is a great low key place to clear customs going either way. On your posted picture the airfield is actually off to the left in between the hops fields. If you land North you go up and over a small hill (watch for cars as you cross a road) and then down into a grass clearing. If you park on the South side of the clearing you are in the U.S., North side for Canada. Take the stairs up towards the Canadian sign and walk to the small customs building. They have always been nice to deal with. No fuel but Bonners Ferry to the South is a good top off point as the prices in Canada can be shocking.

Hello Backcountry Pilots,
Thanks for the great information! Does anyone know a site that shows the port of entry airports? It doesn't look like the US Customs at Northway, AK is open on Sunday August 1st when we plan to pass through. I can't make it from Whitehorse to Fairbanks on a fuel load.

Thanks!

James
Spokane

Here is a link to another post on the subject. Including my adventure with both customs last June.
Also, I could be wrong here, but if you file an arrival time with Customs in Northway, and it is in the system, they will be there for you. I don't believe you have to plan your arrival around their posted work hours. I think if they know they have a plane coming in, they will be there.
What else do they have to do there?? Hang out at Bordertown and drink coffee??

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=3962&start=20

James,
I just took a M-4 down to Nampa, Id. in March. I could not get the eapis system to work and the customer service number was not getting through to anyone. I found the number to the port in Haines Alaska and talked to supervisor who gave me verbal permission to exit the U.S. and called ahead to Oroville, Wa so we could re-enter. Maybe have some backup phone numbers handy.
Can't wait to fish with you.

There is a new (to me) App that Canadian custom’s is requiring one to fill out. This is as of yesterday, Sept 3, 2020 at Whitehorse. ArriveCan is the app name. Available https://apps.apple.com/us/app/arrivecan/id1505394667 on the Apple app store or https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ca.gc.cbsa.coronavirus&hl=en_US for Android on the Google Play store. Free download.

More info on flying to/from Alaska at http://fly2ak.com

I would avoid Canada ( Venezuela 2.0 ) if you can, I hear some unbelievable fines handed out to US folk travelling from lower 49 to Alaska.

David K wrote:I would avoid Canada ( Venezuela 2.0 ) if you can, I hear some unbelievable fines handed out to US folk travelling from lower 49 to Alaska.

While I agree qith the first part of your statement, there has been quite a few people travel through and not recieve fines. The ones that I have heard that have received fines were caught lolly gagging and doing what they were told not to. I don't agree with all the rules that have been put in place for this Covid BS, but they are still rules and are to be followed, lest you pay the consequences. Not to make it political, but if you travel straight through there is no issue, as many have done.

I don’t like the rules either, and yes, we may be Venezuela North pretty soon. Our political circumstance sucks.

That being said, Americans in this country need to remember they are guests and should conduct themselves accordingly, as you would have Canadians do in the US. Those who have been fined were educated with the rules when they entered, then willfully and blatantly disobeyed them. No empathy here.

I believe we are obligated to allow free passage between Alaska and the lower 48. The routes are quite straightforward. You’d have to really go out of your way to end up in Banff National Park. Actually, you’d have to be on a sight seeing trip, which is where the finger pointing and enforcement start.

David K wrote:I would avoid Canada ( Venezuela 2.0 ) if you can, I hear some unbelievable fines handed out to US folk travelling from lower 49 to Alaska.

If you're going to be hyperbolic, please give the details. I made it up in June and depart in a week to head south.

Check the dates on the posts..... some of these are ten years old.

People in general are being harassed if they have US plates. I spoke with a couple of pilot truck drivers from Texas who are piloting windmill blades and they say there can be quite a bit of drama when they stop. Second and last trip for them they are tired of being constantly insulted. I don’t want to see this in the flying community. I realize the guy in Banff was in the wrong but maybe a 78,000 fine? For those of us that live east of the Rockies Banff is along the route to Alaska.

David K wrote:People in general are being harassed if they have US plates. I spoke with a couple of pilot truck drivers from Texas who are piloting windmill blades and they say there can be quite a bit of drama when they stop. Second and last trip for them they are tired of being constantly insulted. I don’t want to see this in the flying community. I realize the guy in Banff was in the wrong but maybe a 78,000 fine? For those of us that live east of the Rockies Banff is along the route to Alaska.

I agree, they shouldn't be harassed. But that is happening from province to province as well. Still doesn't make it right.
And no, Banff is not along the route unless you make it. It actually adds a few hrs to the drive. And when you are told you arent allowed to enter any parks when you cross the border, listen. When I travel to the US I still have to follow the rules whether I think they are right or not. Yes rhe fine is excessive, but if it wasn't then people won't take it serious either.

Haven’t done any Canadian travel during the Election Infection. In the past it’s been nothing but pleasant. The only professional assholes we’ve encountered have been on our side of the line.

BC Canadians are the nicest people in the world to me personally when flying up there. Lots of “Aloha”! I love how friendly the airports, on the coast, are.

Example:

Bella Bella in 2017 the airport manager brought a fire pit and wood to my tied down and encouraged me to spend the night. Before he got off work, he made sure I was OK. So nice and friendly.