Shannon airport is seeking to expand its pre-clearance agreement for US-bound flights after the first two privately-owned aircraft were cleared through the airport's Universal FBO on 1 March.

Derek Collins, operations manager at Shannon, says: "The US Customs and Border Protection Agency is being fully briefed on the agreement's first operational month. It has been a good start but we would like to extend the hours of operation and work on broadening the agreement to include private charter operators as well as non-revenue aircraft."

Full US pre-clearance of aircraft allows passengers to make all the necessary immigration, customs and agriculture inspections at Shannon before departure to the US. Shannon is the first location outside of the US which offers pre-clearance to private aircraft, currently daily between 0700 and 1500.

Director of Shannon airport Martin Moroney says: "The response of international private jet operators has been extremely positive and we are keen to develop this significant business prospect by allowing the world's major private jet operators the opportunity to experience the benefits of the service first hand."

Brendan O'Grady, md of Universal Aviation in Ireland, says: "We can report that the first month has provided a great opportunity to assess demand and prove the attractions of the service for aircraft that currently might not automatically use Shannon. Apart from pre-clearance, which allows people to land in the US with the same status and convenience as passengers on a domestic flight, the airport has competitive fuel prices and is convenient for a technical stop.

"Effectively, Shannon can be a 'one-stop-shop' for private aircraft. The extension of the pre-clearance agreement to Part 135 aircraft is, from our point of view, a very desirable objective."

More than Euro 20 million has been budgeted for the new pre-clearance facility which has a separate processing area for general aviation. "We'd like to move the agreement forward to encompass the full GA sector," says Collins.

The first two private aircraft to benefit from pre-clearance were US-registered and flew from Europe to the US. "They reported that the ability to refuel, clear the formalities and then land at any domestic airport in the US was extremely convenient," says O'Grady. "We expect these positives will be appreciated by a growing number of aircraft in the coming months and years."