About the Airport

HOW THE AIRPORT WORKS & the foreign trade zone

• The airport is owned by the City of Springfield and managed by an 11-member administrative board. Airport Board members are appointed by the City Manager, with confirmation made by the City Council.

• The Board operates the airport as a self-supporting enterprise function, meaning that it operates without local/state tax revenues or general city funds. Daily operations are funded by money generated from leases and contracts with the airlines and other businesses using airport facilities. Grants from the Federal Aviation Administration are received on a matching basis for the funding of qualifying improvement projects. Federal grants are funded mainly by federal taxes on airline tickets, aviation fuel and cargo shipments.

• The airport owns and maintains the basic infrastructure: the terminal, the runways, runway lighting, navigation systems, etc.

• The airport is, in effect, a landlord. It leases space to private companies, such as airlines, rental car agencies and restaurants.

• The airport has its own commissioned police force. These officers do everything you would expect from any police department, but they do not screen passengers (or their luggage) before they get on the airplane. The airport also has its own fire department.

• The screening of passengers and luggage is the done by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). The TSA is part of the federal agency known as the Department of Homeland Security.

• Here's how checked baggage is processed: the customer brings it to the airline ticket counter; an airline employee weighs the luggage and sends it to a backroom where it's inspected by the TSA. An airline employee then sends it on to the airplane for loading.

• Airports do not run control towers. Control towers are overseen by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The FAA is part of the federal government. Towers are staffed by the FAA, or by private companies that are under contract to the FAA.

• The control tower at the Springfield-Branson National Airport is owned and staffed by the FAA.

Foreign Trade Zone

If you're engaged in international business, and experiencing customs delays or paying high duty fees and taxes, contact Springfield-Branson National Airport and discover how Foreign Trade Zone #225 can potentially increase your bottom line.

What is an FTZ?

A Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) is an economic incentives program created by the federal government to facilitate international trade. An FTZ is physically located within a nation’s boundaries, but legally exists outside the customs area. This is
like having an overseas plant located in your own home town.

While your merchandise is in an FTZ, customs duties are delayed until it enters U.S. commerce. If goods enter the FTZ and are exported again, they may never be subject to U.S. Customs duties.

Is an FTZ right for your business?

If any of the following applies to your company, consider utilizing Springfield-Branson National Airport’s (SGF’s) foreign trade zone:

• You need to store imported goods, or show them to prospective buyers
• Your merchandise must be processed, cleaned, tested, re-labeled, re-packaged or otherwise manipulated before it is released into the U.S. or exported
• Your domestic goods will be sold abroad and carry a high excise tax burden
• Some of your imported goods are damaged or destroyed, or have become a waste product of your finished merchandise
• The value of your imported merchandise is increased before it is sold
• There are U.S. quota restrictions on your finished product

FTZ advantages

• Never pay U.S. Customs duties on goods exported from an FTZ or transferred from one FTZ to another
• Duties are not owed on labor, overhead or profit attributed to production in an FTZ
• Store your goods indefinitely, duty-free
• Minimize inventory cost
• Pay the duty rate on either imported components or the finished product, whichever
  is lower
• Duties are reduced or eliminated on damaged or waste materials
• Utilize the “weekly entry” feature approved by Customs to save processing fees and minimize procedural requirements
• FDA, Department of Agriculture and FCC nonapproved items may be allowed into a foreign trade zone

Springfield-Branson National Airport can assist with a simple feasibility study to determine the full range of potential benefits to your company:

• Assistance with the Foreign Trade Zone application process
• General Purpose Foreign Trade Zone sites on airport property
• Boundary modifications for potential General Purpose Foreign Trade Zone sites on other properties
• Special Purpose Foreign Trade Subzones
  

Contact

Alan Drake
Director of Foreign Trade Zone Services
Schenker, Inc.
alan.drake@schenker.com

Or email the airport:

info@flyspringfield.com