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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Some private flights may be going to other states because their passengers cannot get 24-hour customs at Salt Lake City International Airport, air industry advocates say.
Late-arriving private jet flights from other countries have to land at some city that does have 24-hour service, clear customs and then continue on to Salt Lake City.
That can increase fuel costs by $4,000 to $5,000.
Air industry advocates said this may cause some executives to not want to do business in Salt Lake City.
John Glaittli, port director for customs in Salt Lake, said that the federal agency has begun servicing the airport from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. -- four hours longer than before.
Glaittli said only about 12 to 18 private flights last year sought to come into the airport at times when customs service was not available.
"For 12 to 18 flights out of 365 days a year it doesn't make sense to staff it," Glaittli said. Customs will try to accommodate as much traffic as possible, but the "middle of the night stuff is going to be an issue."
Utah Air Travel Commission Chairwoman Meg Holbrook said Customs' service was "very accommodating."
However, commission member Keith Christensen said, "As mildly as I can, I'm going to ask you to be (as) aggressive in accommodating that (late-night) traffic as possible. We'd love to see that business here rather than in Colorado or Nevada."
Bill Haberstock, who runs the private jet fueling service Million Air, said the airport should have on-demand customs service.
He said his clients would be willing to pay as much as $400 or $500 to clear customs in Salt Lake City.
Others said customs officials have bent over backward to accommodate the international air travel.
"We have great service for the demand that we have and for them to work with us in the way that they have in terms of expanding their staff and expanding their hours given the fact that they are handling the numbers they have is great," airport spokeswoman Barbara Gann said.
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
