Landing Rules for Planes Aimed at Drug Smugglers

In a move aimed at combatting the flow of drugs the U.S. Customs Service said it will no longer allow private planes entering the United States from Mexico to fly directly to Lindbergh Field.

Under an agreement between the Customs Service and Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Coronado), private aircraft bound for Lindbergh from Mexico would be directed to land at Brown Field in San Diego or Calexico Airport, where they would undergo customs inspections, said Frank Collins, a spokesman for Hunter.

“The purpose is to control drug smuggling. Brown Field and Calexico are directly adjacent to the border. All planes coming in from Mexico would be forced to land there and be checked,” Collins said today.

“Before, they would land on an isolated strip somewhere in the desert, unload their drugs and go on to Lindbergh to be checked by Customs,” Collins said.

Hunter said that many planes entering U.S. airspace change their flight plans in the air to avoid Customs checks.

“This will just take another opportunity away from the drug smugglers,” Collins said. “These two strips are right there on the border. Planes that don’t land right there are pretty suspect. It’s another effort in the war against drugs.”

The manager of Lindbergh Field, Bud McDonald, said about three private planes a day come in from Mexico and land at Lindbergh.

In 1985 there were 732 private flights from Mexico, carrying 3,473 passengers and crew members, that landed at Lindbergh, McDonald added.