Flying To Canada

While preparing for my trips to Canada, I assembled a checklist of activities and information needed for a successful flight. AOPA has a terrific page describing the necessary steps to fly to Canada, but there are other sources out there as well. 

Below is my consolidated checklist, last updated in October of 2023.

Paperwork Preparation / Generally One-Time Items

• Passports: $110 / person
• FCC Radio Station License (for the aircraft, $170) and Restricted Radiotelephone Operators Permit (for the pilot, $65)
• Radio Station License for aircraft has a 10 year expiry. The Operators permit expires when the pilot does.
• CBP decal ($32.62 annual user fee as of 2023)  
• Canadian Flight Supplement and necessary charts 
• A comprehensive Canadian package with all resources is available from ForeFlight for $100/year (current as of 2023).
• Alternatively, specific Canadian airport diagrams, plates, and Flight Supplement entries are available for free download as PDFs from FltPlan.com. PDFS can be imported into ForeFlight as documents (not georeferenced, but still very helpful).
• Create eAPIS account
• Panel mount GPS database upgrades desired or necessary? 
• May be useful for IFR operations, but would not recommend for VFR.
• Verify that aircraft insurance allows Canadian flight.
• Verify cell service and credit card use in Canada with service providers.

Before Departure for Canada

• Verify operational hours of customs at intended Canadian Airport of Entry.
• During COVID, some Canadian airports have reduced customs availability.
• Broader customs access (use any Airport of Entry at any time) is available through the CANPASS Private Aircraft program. Each passenger must be a member. Cost is $40 for those 18+ years old. Memberships are valid for five years.
• File eAPIS departure manifest with CBP no less than 1 hour prior to departure. There is no limit in how long in advance these can be filed. Save confirmation email and verify that flight is cleared. 
• See this guide to fill out APIS properly.
• File ICAO compliant flight plan (IFR or VFR).
• Notify Canadian customs at least two hours but no more than 48 hours prior to arrival: 1-888-226-7277 (1-888-CANPASS). ETA should be accurate to +/- 15 minutes. All Canadian ports of entry use the same CANPASS telephone number.

Border Crossing

• The same rules apply as for overflights: be on a flight plan, in two-way communication with ATC, and squawking a discrete transponder code.

Arrival in Canada

• Do not leave aircraft until cleared to do so by Canadian customs.
• If VFR, close flight plan with Canadian Flight Service (1-866-WXBRIEF). If IFR and landing at a non-towered field, close flight plan according to phone number in CFS for that airport. Canadian airports hosting a Flight Service Station will close IFR flight plans for you (e.g., Kingston, Ontario).
• Call Canadian Customs at 1-888-226-7277 (1-888-CANPASS) and record check-in number provided by officer. Canadian customs officers rarely come to the airplane.
• Use of Canadian ATC service by foreign-registered aircraft will generate a quarterly user fee invoice from Nav Canada for $24.09 CAD (as of October 2023). 
• These fees are not applied to overflights departing and arriving at US airports.

Before Departure to United States

• Verify hours of customs at US Airport of Entry. It is best to pick an airport of entry close to the border (to minimize variability in ETA) with a full time customs office, if available. Buffalo is open 8:00 am to midnight seven days a week (716-632-4727).
• File eAPIS arrival manifest no less than 1 hour prior to departure. Save confirmation email and verify that the flight is cleared. 
• See this guide to help fill out APIS properly.
• File ICAO compliant flight plan. 
• Notify US customs at the intended office of arrival no less than one hour and no more than 23 hours prior to arrival. Provide officer with: citizenship, CBP decal number, number of crew and passengers, callback phone number, tail number, and ETA. An accuracy of +/- 15 minutes of the ETA is expected. The officer will verbally indicate that you are "cleared for landing".

Border Crossing

• The same rules apply as for overflights: be on a flight plan, in two-way communication with ATC, and squawking a discrete transponder code.

Arrival in United States

• Call customs on arrival. TAC-Air in Buffalo will notify customs. Do not leave aircraft until cleared by customs.
• As of 2022, TAC-Air in Buffalo charges a $5 landing fee and a $7 handling fee for aircraft clearing customs.
• If VFR, close flight plan with US Flight Service (1-800-WXBRIEF). Cancel IFR if arriving at non-towered airport and you did not cancel in the air.
• The US customs officer wanted to see: passports, pilot certificate, medical certificate, aircraft registration. They will scan the aircraft for radioactivity.