Three months after September 11 corporate flight departments with aircraft registered outside the U.S. were still experiencing serious difficulties operating into and within U.S. airspace. For each planned flight, not-for-hire operators (Part 91 equivalent) are still required to apply to the FAA for waivers to the ban on non-N-registered aircraft that was imposed after September 11. Notams have warned foreign operators that their aircraft can be shot down if they enter U.S. airspace without this clearance.
According to the European Business Aviation Association (EBAA), the FAA’s response time to these waiver applications varies from a couple of days to several weeks. Under the requirements of notams 1/0613, 1/0617 and 1/0628, operators have to provide FAA officials with full details of the planned trip, as well as precise information about the crew, passengers and aircraft.
