Guide
What an international private flight needs from you
Passports, permits, customs and the handful of things that catch first-time international charter clients.
From you
- A passport for every passenger, valid for the destination's rules (six months remaining is the safe assumption), plus visas or e-visas where required. We check the destination rule for you when you book.
- Full names as printed in the passport, dates of birth and nationality, 24 hours before departure, for the APIS manifest the operator files with US and foreign customs.
- Anything unusual: pets, firearms for a hunting trip, medical equipment, high-value items. Each has a procedure; none is a problem if we know.
From the operator (and us)
- Overflight and landing permits, which some countries issue in hours and others in days. Lagos, Luanda and parts of the Middle East want a week.
- Ground handling at the destination: a handler meets the aircraft, clears customs on board or in a private lounge, fuels and parks it.
- Fuel planning, including a technical stop when winds take a heavy jet past its range on the day.
- Crew rest. A single crew can legally fly roughly ten hours of duty; past that, a second crew rides along or the aircraft overnights.
Returning to the US
You clear customs and immigration at a private FBO with a Customs and Border Protection officer, usually in under twenty minutes. The international head tax and the US customs, immigration and APHIS user fees appear on your quote per passenger; there is no excise tax on international itineraries.