Local

OIA hasn't received new customs officers in 8 years, despite huge passenger increase, officials say

By Field Sutton
By Field Sutton
Since 2009, the number of international travelers flying in and out of Orlando International Airport has nearly doubled.
The number of U.S. Customs and Border Patrol officers assigned to the airport during that same time has stayed the same.
The situation has caused more than a headache for passengers, it has safety ramifications too, Greater Orlando Airport Authority CEO Phil Brown said.
“We don’t have enough staff,” he said. “We’ve sent out letters. We’ve been talking about this since 2010.”
9 Investigates: Drug smuggling at OIA on the rise, officials say
Speaking to Channel 9 before a GOAA board meeting Wednesday, Brown said the exponential increase in international travelers with no additional CPB staffing has caused serious problems.
“I remember a Friday that we had five flights that took three hours or more for those flights to clear (through customs),” he said.
In an August 2017 letter from the Airport Authority, officials said the customs staffing issue has “now reached the crisis point.”
Read: 20 passengers from flight at OIA nearly bypass U.S. Customs and Immigration
Orlando International Airport is about to open a massive expansion at the facility, but there will not be any customs officers to staff it so it will be useless for processing additional passengers, Brown said.
“You’ve got the potential for increased security concerns here,” he said.
In the 2017 letter, Airport Authority officials said they had spent nearly $4 million to pay overtime for customs officers.
Paying for overtime is not a long-term solution, the letter said.
“The shortage of CBP officers is such that even with the ability to pay overtime, officers work 17, 18 or more days continuously without a day off,” the letter said.
Read: Border patrol confiscates 227 pounds of prohibited Mexican bologna
At least four Central Florida lawmakers in Washington, D.C., have said they are working against a plan to send local customs officers to the Southwest border.
They were also working to get more assigned to Orlando International Airport.
Customs and Border Patrol officials said they were trying to work with politicians, but did not comment further.

Cox Media Group

Most Read