Press Room

Sao Paulo (Aug. 14, 2008) – Starting in early 2009, private aircraft traveling to the United States via Latin America will be able to preclear all U.S. Customs and Immigration at Aruba's general aviation terminal (GAT), which is operated by Universal Aviation Aruba N.V., a subsidiary of Universal Weather and Aviation, Inc.

In May 2008, the U.S. and Aruba reached an agreement making Aruba the first country in the world to sign such a preclearance agreement with the U.S. When private aircraft operators land at Queen Beatrix Airport in Oranjestad, they will enter the customs and immigration wing of the GAT for preclearance. Once they have precleared, they will be officially considered within the U.S. border, and can bypass all normal U.S. airports of entry and proceed to any destination within the U.S.

"This historic agreement will save operators traveling from Latin America to the U.S. considerable time," explained Walter Lindo, Regional Director, Latin America and the Caribbean, Universal Aviation(sm). "Aruba is strategically located just two and a half hours from the U.S. border. Now when you leave Aruba, you can operate to anywhere in the U.S. This will be a huge time savings as operators, who normally had to make tech stops for fuel and then an additional stop for Customs and Immigration clearance, can now do everything in one location."

"The entire process to clear all Customs and Immigration should take about 35 to 40 minutes," said Claudio Stamper, General Manager, Universal Aviation in Aruba. "This is a very exciting opportunity for us, and we expect to see a sharp increase in traffic as operators take advantage of the time savings and consolidate their tech and clearance stops at one facility. Our GAT was already an attractive option and a model for GATs throughout the world, but the ability to provide preclearance to the U.S. makes it truly the premier one-stop shop in the region."

In addition to preclearance, features and services at the facility, which are available 24 hours a day, include a duty-free shop, ample ramp and parking space, VIP and pilot lounges, on-site customs and immigration, as well as coordination of ground transportation, airport fees, hotels, rental car service, 24-hour security arrangements, catering, line maintenance, flight planning, fuel and weather briefings.

To learn more about Universal Aviation in Aruba, contact Claudio Stamper, (297) 594-8198, (297) 588-2465, or e-mail: aruba@universalaviation.aero. To learn more about Universal Aviation, call (713) 944-1622 ext. 5707, N. America Toll-Free (800) 231-5600 ext. 5707, or visit http://universalaviation.aero/.

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At Universal Weather and Aviation, Inc., our goal is to become a vital extension of our clients' flight operations teams. Universal® offers a wide range of services designed to provide business aviation operators seamless service from start to finish. Universal's wide range of services includes flight planning, weather briefings, online tools, the UVair® Fueling Card, Universal Aviation(sm) worldwide ground support, UVdatalink® air-to-ground communication, and more. Universal has been facilitating successful trips for business aviation operators since 1959.

To learn more about Universal Weather and Aviation, Inc., e-mail sales@universalweather.com, or call (800) 231-5600 ext. 3300 (N. America Toll-Free) or (713) 944-1622 ext. 3300 (Worldwide).

Universal: Success from the word GO.

CONTACT:
Louis Smyth
N. America Toll-Free: (800) 231-5600 ext. 5713
Worldwide Direct: (713) 947-5713
E-mail: lsmyth@univ-wea.com