By Meredith M. Griffith
Contributor
O, Canada … It’s so close, and yet so far away. For those without private boats, what could be a 10-minute jump by small airplane has often been a lengthy journey, especially when the Sidney ferry stops running for the winter.
At present, customs officers hold normal business hours at the Port of Friday Harbor marina from 8-5 p.m. in winter and 8-8 p.m. in summer.
“Friday Harbor is a landing rights-only airport, so pilots would need to contact our office to see if we are able to accommodate them arriving in Friday Harbor,” said US Customs and Border Protection port director Thomas Barnes. “At times we are dealing with the international ferry, and would be unable to accommodate them.”
Due to the lack of regular customs presence and availability, no small commercial airlines now offer regularly scheduled flights between Friday Harbor and Sidney, Victoria or Vancouver; and privately chartered flights can cost between $300-700.
San Juan County council member Rick Hughes has worked to spur changes that will make such international travel more convenient for islanders, visitors and their Canadian counterparts.
Over the past few months, Hughes has initiated negotiations between multiple agencies on both sides of the border, working to hammer out an agreement to set regular hours during which airplanes can consistently clear customs in Friday Harbor for travel from Canadian airports.
“This shouldn’t cost the public hardly any money at all, and it should offer a different transportation option,” said Hughes. “We don’t really get a lot of commerce from Canada because it’s so difficult to cross.”
As the crow flies, the distance between Friday Harbor and Sidney is 23.6 miles. The Friday Harbor-Sidney ferry trip takes one to two hours, and recent round-trip fares ran $129.75 for a vehicle and $24.05 for an adult. When the direct ferry isn’t running, the long way around is 143 miles, taking around eight hours with two separate ferry rides.
And scheduled small commercial flights from the San Juan Islands routinely route through Seattle before heading back north to Vancouver, Victoria or Sidney, because they rely on clearing customs at Boeing Field (King County International Airport) for scheduled flights.
Hoping to open up some new options, Hughes reached out to the head of the Washington State Department of Transportation; “The Farmhouse Gang,” a coalition of citizens, elected officials and staff of transportation agencies from Whatcom, Skagit, Island, San Juan and northern Snohomish counties; and others.
“The Town of Friday Harbor, the Port of Friday Harbor, the Canadian government, the federal government, the 40th district folks, Governor Inslee, and Customs and Border Protection were great partners,” said Hughes.
After a cross-border presentation, the relevant decision-makers worked out a plan: Friday Harbor Customs and Border Protection has agreed to staff an airport customs area for regular hours, perhaps two hours per day.
“This won’t cause any more hours for CDP staff; they’ll just put 1-2 officers at the airport for two hours a day,” said Hughes.” San Juan County is the single largest point of entry for small boats in the whole country. We have staffing levels here for that. Customs also clears folks coming from Sidney on the ferry.”
The Port of Friday Harbor has applied for funds in order to pay for the infrastructure needed for customs to operate regularly at the airport. Hughes said the current rough estimate for cost is around $50,000; of that, the Town of Friday Harbor has agreed to pay one third, and San Juan County has agreed to pay two thirds, through a lodging tax grant. Installing the required infrastructure will involve building two walls, putting in a door, removing a window, and installing security cameras and a metal bench that will serve for detention purposes if necessary (in conjunction with handcuffs).
“Customs folks have been very generous to come in; this is a bit out of the ordinary for them,” said Hughes. While customs normally has set protocol for structures used as entry points, the federal government agreed on a slight modification of policy to make this possible.
Michelle James, the director of field ops for the Northwest, actually came out in person to help them find an economic solution for Friday Harbor. Port of Friday Harbor operations manager Stuart Hansen told the Journal that there has been interest shown by small commercial carriers, but they are not ready to announce any arrangements just yet.
“The goal is to provide better access, more convenience and economic development for the county,” said Hughes. “Everyone’s getting something out of it. How often do you get five different government agencies working together to get something solved in a relatively short period of time? Solutions that make everyone win, trying to find a compromise; I think that’s what governance should be about.”
While there are still details to arrange, the agreement is at a “handshake” stage, says Hughes.
“We really want to work with the federal government to agree on a window of time when they’ll be at the airport,” he said. The necessary work is being put out to bid, and the tentative goal is to have customs open to regularly process Friday Harbor flights by January 1.
Adds Hughes, “This will make Friday Harbor an international airport, which is kind of funny.”
