Olympics Gateway Airports Added
By Russ Niles, Editor-in-Chief
ADIZ-like restrictions have been imposed for private aircraft traveling to the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada next month. All private aircraft heading to Vancouver will have to land in a "gateway" airport before going to Vancouver. Thorough security screenings and searches will be done at the gateways and the aircraft must go nonstop to Vancouver from there. Customs will be cleared on the ramp at Vancouver International and no one will be allowed to leave their aircraft until after the customs check.
Private aircraft will also be required to have their slot and ramp reservation before being allowed to leave the gateway airport. The initial list of gateway airports were all within a few hundred miles of Vancouver and included Boise (BOI), Reno (RNO) and Spokane (GEG) in the U.S., along with Calgary (CYYC), Kelowna (CYLW), Abbotsford (CYXX) and Victoria (CYYJ) in Canada. Longer-range options have been added in the U.S. by the Transportation Security Administration and include Bedford Hanscom Airport (BED), Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW), Dallas Love Field (DAL), Long Beach Airport (LGB), Memphis International Airport (MEM), Minneapolis-St. Paul International/World Chamberlain Airport (MSP), Palm Beach International Airport (PBI), Port Columbus International Airport (CMH), Seattle Tacoma International Airport (SEA), Teterboro Airport (TEB), William P. Hobby Airport (HOU), Westchester County Airport (HPN) and Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD).
