Easter Holiday Weekend Travel Advisory
U.S. Customs Border & Protection / http://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/local-media-release/2014-04-15-000000/easter-holiday-weekend-travel-advisory
GREAT FALLS, Mont. - U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Office of Field Operations (OFO), is reminding travelers planning trips across the border into Idaho or Montana to anticipate heavy traffic in the United States starting on April 18, for the Easter holiday weekend.
CBP encourages travelers to plan trips in advance and obtain a radio frequency identification (RFID)-enabled travel document such as an Enhanced Driver’s License/Enhanced Identification Card, U.S. Passport Card, or Trusted Traveler Program card (NEXUS, SENTRI, Global Entry, or FAST/EXPRES) to expedite their entry into the United States and make future border crossings more efficient.
Border traffic volumes are expected to increase significantly Friday, April 18, 2014; all travelers are reminded of a few simple steps they can employ to cross the border more efficiently during this Easter weekend.
1. Check out the new CBP informational website
The CBP site has been completely redesigned to help users quickly access the content they need. It also is optimized for access by smart phones and makes use of a new content delivery network that will improve access internationally.
2. Beat the border rush
Cross during off-peak times, such as before 6 a.m. or after 2 p.m. Most lines at the border start building in the morning and carry on into early afternoon.
Monitor wait times for the port of Sweetgrass, Montana. Information is updated hourly and is useful in planning trips and identifying periods of light use/short waits.
3. Keep travel documents handy
Make sure each passenger has the correct travel document accessible and ready to give to the CBP officer.
If you are a frequent international traveler and have not already become a member of a trusted traveler program, sign up now. For more information, please visit the Trusted Traveler section of the CBP website.
4. Know the contents of your vehicles and be prepared to declare all items
Travelers are required to declare all items being imported into the United States from Canada. If you are not sure about what to declare, do not hesitate to ask the CBP officer.
Travelers should familiarize themselves with the “Know Before You Go.”
5. Know what food products can be imported
Many fruits, meats, dairy, and poultry products are prohibited from being imported into the United States from Canada.
For more information, please review the Prohibited and Restricted Items section of the “Know Before You Go."
6. Changes to the exportation of all used self-propelled vehicles
New regulations require exporters of used self-propelled vehicles to file the Electronic Export Information (EEI) in the Automated Export System (AES) or AES/Direct 72 hours prior to export regardless of value or destination.
A free U.S. Census Bureau internet application is available that allows exporters to file electronic export information via the internet at aesdirect.census.gov.
7. Monitor the weather and road conditions
Check current road conditions in Idaho and Montana.
CBP Intercepts Big Heroin Load at El Paso Port of Entry
U.S. Customs & Border Protection / http://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/local-media-release/2014-04-15-000000/cbp-intercepts-big-heroin-load-el-paso-port-entry
EL PASO, Texas – U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office of Field Operation officers working at the El Paso port of entry seized 17.7 pounds of heroin Monday. The estimated street value of the seized contraband is $566,400.
“A substantial amount of heroin did not make it to its intended destination,” said Hector Mancha, CBP El Paso Port Director. “While homeland security is our primary mission, keeping dangerous drugs off the streets of our communities makes for a safer nation as well.”
The seizure was made at approximately 5 a.m. Monday at the Paso Del Norte international crossing after a 1996 Audi A4 Quattro entered the port from Mexico. A CBP officer at the primary inspection noted that the driver was nervous during the entry interview. CBP drug sniffing dog “Chip” alerted to the vehicle while it was at the primary inspection booth. CBP officers scanned the vehicle with the Z-Portal x-ray system and spotted a suspicious area in the front floor area of the car. CBP officers continued their exam and located 10 tape-wrapped bundles hidden in a floor compartment. The brown, tar-like contents of the bundles tested positive for heroin.17.7 pounds of heroin found inside a 1996 Audi A4 Quattro at the El Paso port of entry.
CBP officers arrested the driver of the truck, 21-year-old Herbert Garza of El Paso, Texas. He was turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations special agents to face charges associated with the failed smuggling attempt.
While anti-terrorism is the primary mission of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the inspection process at the ports of entry associated with this mission results in impressive numbers of enforcement actions in all categories.
New PierPass Video: What Happens When a Truck Picks Up a Container?
PierPass / http://pierpass.org/
After a season of disruptions at major East Coast and Northwest ports, opinions are flying about strategies to keep truck deliveries at the terminals moving quickly. We’ve produced a new video to help those concerned with container throughput issues to better understand the system as it exists today. The video walks viewers through a truck turn from the moment it enters the terminal with an empty container to the time it leaves the exit gate with a full load. (Our previous video explored truck queues outside the terminal gates.)
I encourage you to watch the video and share it with your constituents. The video is available by clicking on the image above or through this link: After a season of disruptions at major East Coast and Northwest ports, opinions are flying about strategies to keep truck deliveries at the terminals moving quickly. We’ve produced a new video to help those concerned with container throughput issues to better understand the system as it exists today. The video walks viewers through a truck turn from the moment it enters the terminal with an empty container to the time it leaves the exit gate with a full load. (Our previous video explored truck queues outside the terminal gates.)
I encourage you to watch the video and share it with your constituents. The video is available by clicking on the image above or through this link: http://youtu.be/P9IJN1yIIJ4.
Compared to several other North American ports that have struggled in recent months with unusually bad weather, operational problems and labor disputes, conditions at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have been much steadier. In-terminal turn time – the average amount of time a truck is inside a terminal to complete a single transaction – increased gradually from an average of 37.5 minutes during day shifts in February 2013 to 40.6 minutes in February 2014, a rise of about 8%.
Nonetheless, we believe changes underway with several links in the goods movement chain are likely to continue increasing turn times unless we revamp some long-established processes. These ongoing changes include the arrival of ever-larger ships, and the transition in how chassis are owned and managed.
The current random-access system – when any truck can show up at any time to pick up any container – hasn’t changed since containerization began in the early 1960’s. If we’re going to significantly change the results, we need to reevaluate how we deliver containers.
The terminal operators and other stakeholders are looking at a range of potential tools to maintain throughput velocity under these changing conditions. Possible delivery improvements under study include pre-staging containers for bulk delivery (also known as free flow), pre-entering truck and cargo information into terminal computer systems, and using cellphone lots and smartphone applications to better coordinate truck arrivals and shift traffic out of gate lines.4.
Compared to several other North American ports that have struggled in recent months with unusually bad weather, operational problems and labor disputes, conditions at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have been much steadier. In-terminal turn time – the average amount of time a truck is inside a terminal to complete a single transaction – increased gradually from an average of 37.5 minutes during day shifts in February 2013 to 40.6 minutes in February 2014, a rise of about 8%.
Nonetheless, we believe changes underway with several links in the goods movement chain are likely to continue increasing turn times unless we revamp some long-established processes. These ongoing changes include the arrival of ever-larger ships, and the transition in how chassis are owned and managed.
The current random-access system – when any truck can show up at any time to pick up any container – hasn’t changed since containerization began in the early 1960’s. If we’re going to significantly change the results, we need to reevaluate how we deliver containers.
The terminal operators and other stakeholders are looking at a range of potential tools to maintain throughput velocity under these changing conditions. Possible delivery improvements under study include pre-staging containers for bulk delivery (also known as free flow), pre-entering truck and cargo information into terminal computer systems, and using cellphone lots and smartphone applications to better coordinate truck arrivals and shift traffic out of gate lines.
February Airline On-Time Performance Down From Previous Year, Up from January
U.S. Department of Transportation / http://www.dot.gov/briefing-room/february-airline-time-performance-down-previous-year-january
WASHINGTON – The nation’s largest airlines posted an on-time arrival rate of 70.7 percent in February, down from the 79.6 percent on-time rate posted in February 2013, but up from the 67.7 percent on-time rate posted in January 2014, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Air Travel Consumer Report released today.
Airlines also reported no tarmac delays of more than three hours on domestic flights and no tarmac delays of more than four hours on international flights.
The consumer report also includes data on cancellations, chronically delayed flights, and the causes of flight delays filed with the Department’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics by the reporting carriers. In addition, the consumer report contains information on mishandled baggage reports filed by consumers with the carriers and airline service complaints received by the Department’s Aviation Consumer Protection Division. The consumer report also includes reports of incidents involving the loss, death, or injury of pets traveling by air, as required to be filed by U.S. carriers.
Cancellations
The reporting carriers canceled 5.5 percent of their scheduled domestic flights in February, up from the 2.4 percent cancellation rate posted in February 2013, but down from the 6.5 percent rate posted in January 2014.
Chronically Delayed Flights
At the end of February, there were 22 flights that were chronically delayed – more than 30 minutes late more than 50 percent of the time – for three consecutive months. There were an additional 73 regularly scheduled flights that were chronically delayed for two consecutive months. There were no chronically delayed flights for four consecutive months or more. A list of flights that were chronically delayed for a single month is available from BTS.
Causes of Flight Delays
In February, the carriers filing on-time performance data reported that 6.92 percent of their flights were delayed by aviation system delays, compared to 6.60 percent in January; 9.09 percent by late-arriving aircraft, compared to 9.87 percent in January; 6.78 percent by factors within the airline’s control, such as maintenance or crew problems, compared to 7.66 percent in January; 0.74 percent by extreme weather, compared to 1.26 percent in January; and 0.02 percent for security reasons, compared to 0.03 percent in January.
Weather is a factor in both the extreme-weather category and the aviation-system category. This includes delays due to the re-routing of flights by DOT’s Federal Aviation Administration in consultation with the carriers involved. Weather is also a factor in delays attributed to late-arriving aircraft, although airlines do not report specific causes in that category.
Data collected by BTS also shows the percentage of late flights delayed by weather, including those reported in either the category of extreme weather or included in National Aviation System delays. In February, 32.73 percent of late flights were delayed by weather, up from 29.14 percent in January and down from 36.96 in February 2013.
Detailed information on flight delays and their causes is available on the BTS website at http://www.bts.gov.
Mishandled Baggage
The U.S. carriers reporting flight delays and mishandled baggage data posted a mishandled baggage rate of 4.21 reports per 1,000 passengers in February, up from the February 2013 rate of 2.99, but down from the January 2014 rate of 5.54.
Incidents Involving Pets
In February, carriers reported no incidents involving the loss, death, or injury of pets while traveling by air, down from both the four reports filed in February 2013 and the two reports filed in January 2014.
Complaints About Airline Service
In February, the Department received 1,171 complaints about airline service from consumers, up 30.0 percent from the 901 complaints filed in February 2013, and down 31.6 percent from the 1,713 received in January 2014.
Complaints About Treatment of Disabled Passengers
The report also contains a tabulation of complaints filed with DOT in February against airlines regarding the treatment of passengers with disabilities. The Department received a total of 33 disability-related complaints in February, down from both the total of 42 complaints filed in February 2013 and the 76 complaints received in January 2014.
Complaints About Discrimination
In February, the Department received five complaints alleging discrimination by airlines due to factors other than disability – such as race, religion, national origin, or sex – equal to the total of five recorded in February 2013, but down from the eight recorded in January 2014.
Consumers may file their complaints in writing with the Aviation Consumer Protection Division, U.S. Department of Transportation, C-75, W96-432, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE, Washington, DC 20590; by voice mail at (202) 366-2220 or by TTY at (202) 366-0511; or on the web at www.dot.gov/airconsumer.
Consumers who want on-time performance data for specific flights should call their airline’s reservation number or their travel agent. This information is available on the computerized reservation systems used by these agents. The information is also available on the appropriate carrier’s website.===================================================================================
AIR TRAVEL CONSUMER REPORT
April 2014
KEY ON-TIME PERFORMANCE AND FLIGHT CANCELLATION STATISTICS
Based on Data Filed with the Bureau of Transportation Statistics by the 14 Reporting Carriers and Tarmac Data Filed by All Carriers
Overall
70.7 percent on-time arrivals
Highest On-Time Arrival Rates
1.Hawaiian Airlines – 90.1 percent
2.Alaska Airlines – 85.7 percent
3.Delta Air Lines – 77.5 percent
Lowest On-Time Arrival Rates
1.ExpressJet Airlines – 59.0 percent
2.Frontier Airlines – 64.2 percent
3.JetBlue Airways – 64.6 percent
Domestic Flights with Longest Tarmac Delays Exceeding Three Hours
*There were no domestic flights in February with tarmac delays exceeding three hours.
International Flights with Longest Tarmac Delays Exceeding Four Hours
*There were no international flights in February with tarmac delays exceeding four hours.
Highest Rates of Canceled Flights
1.ExpressJet Airlines – 11.7 percent
2.American Eagle Airlines – 8.8 percent
3.US Airways – 6.6 percent
Lowest Rates of Canceled Flights
1.Hawaiian Airlines – 0.1 percent
2.Frontier Airlines – 0.5 percent
3.Alaska Airlines – 1.2 percent