# 'International' Airports **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 3, 2011, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/international-airports/591349 "2011-08-03T18:56:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![MikeS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MikeS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeS)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/international-airports/591349/21 "2011-08-04T03:03:26Z")
One of my favourite throwaway sight gags on “The Simpsons” involves a plane landing at [Iowa Non-International Airport.](http://simpsons.shoutwiki.com/wiki/Iowa_Non-International_Airport) ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/international-airports/591349/22 "2011-08-04T07:58:19Z")
> [@Canadjun](#): > > You can pre-clear US customs and immigration in quite a few Canadian airports. Pity you can’t do the opposite (pre-clear Canadian customs and immigration in an American airport). Canada is actually allowed to start doing it if they want. I doubt that it would be as worthwhile, though. There are only eight airports in Canada with pre-clearance. Canada would have to set up in a lot more airports in the US to capture anything close to the same number of fliers. ---
**Author:** ![kferr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/71e660/32.png) [@kferr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kferr)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/international-airports/591349/23 "2011-08-04T11:38:17Z")
You can also pre-clear US customs in Shannon, Ireland. ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/international-airports/591349/24 "2011-08-04T14:00:50Z")
The airport in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, is called Harrisburg International Airport. I was once on an international flight scheduled to land in Philadelphia. We were told that we could not land in Philly due to “weather” and that since we didn’t have enough fuel to hold as long as we needed to, we were diverting to Harrisburg to land and refuel. As it happened Harrisburg was closer to our final destination than Philly, but we were also told no one could leave the plane at this airport, as there were no Immigration or Customs agents on duty. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/international-airports/591349/25 "2011-08-04T15:03:55Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > The Quad Cities (a conglomeration of 5 cities clustered around the Illinois/Iowa border) has an international airport; I believe they have one scheduled flight to Toronto per day. Yeah, but having an airport with customs facilities probably comes in handy for John Deere and Case/IH. Ditto for Caterpillar in Peoria. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/international-airports/591349/26 "2011-08-04T16:42:06Z")
The wiki on [US Customs Pre-clearance](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_border_preclearance). There are a few overseas airports that do it, as well as the major Canadian ones. I’ve got friends living in Manchester; screw Heathrow, I’m going via Dublin+puddle-jumper next time! ---
**Author:** ![sachertorte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sachertorte/32/3727_2.png) [@sachertorte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sachertorte)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/international-airports/591349/27 "2011-08-04T18:50:42Z")
I flew to Houston last week. Their airport (or at least one of them) advertises that they are an “Intercontinental” Airport. I guess that’s to advertise that they don’t just go to Mexico, which wouldn’t be all that impressive given Houston’s location. ---
**Author:** ![leahcim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b4bc9f/32.png) [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/international-airports/591349/28 "2011-08-04T19:29:18Z")
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > Canada is actually allowed to start doing it if they want. I doubt that it would be as worthwhile, though. There are only eight airports in Canada with pre-clearance. Canada would have to set up in a lot more airports in the US to capture anything close to the same number of fliers. It’s not just “capturing the number of fliers” that makes it economically less attractive. The value of pre-clearance in Canada is to allow flights to airports in the states that don’t have customs facilities of their own and would otherwise only be usable for domestic flights. For example having a direct flight from Ottawa to LaGuardia, instead of having to go to the more crowded JFK. If the bulk of flights going from the US to Canada go through airports with customs facilities anyway, there’s little point in pre-clearing to Canada on US soil even if you could set it up in every US airport cheaply. ---
**Author:** ![wei\_ji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9a140/32.png) [@wei\_ji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wei_ji)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/international-airports/591349/29 "2011-08-04T19:50:27Z")
There were a lot of tiny “international airports” in Southeastern Alaska as I grew up there. My understanding was that this meant a customs station being available, if necessary: Hence you could enter the country lawfully there. For instance, you could take a flight to Whitehorse, Yukon, in Canada from the Juneau “international airport” and there was a customs station at the airport when you came back. The same is true, I believe, of Ketchican “international airport” which probably has flights to Prince Rupert, B.C., but in any event I pretty sure it has a customs station if someone “drops in” from Canada in a small plane. I repeat that this is strictly my understanding when I was living there, and does not reference actual regulations regarding “international” airports. (Incidentally, Ketchikan International Airport was the real focus of the “Bridge to Nowhere” debate–the bridge would have connected the Ketchikan international airport on the island with the city it served, ending a small ferry commute). Here’s an explanation, if you care. > **[Gravina Island Bridge](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravina_Island_Bridge)** > > The Gravina Island Bridge, commonly referred to as the "Bridge to Nowhere", was a proposed bridge to replace the ferry that currently connects the town of Ketchikan, Alaska, United States, with Gravina Island, an island that contains the Ketchikan International Airport as well as 50 residents. The bridge was projected to cost $398 million. Members of the Alaskan congressional delegation, particularly Representative Don Young and Senator Ted Stevens, were the bridge's biggest advocates in Congress... ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/international-airports/591349/30 "2011-08-05T02:17:45Z")
> [@flodnak](#): > > The airport in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, is called Harrisburg International Airport. I was once on an international flight scheduled to land in Philadelphia. We were told that we could not land in Philly due to “weather” and that since we didn’t have enough fuel to hold as long as we needed to, we were diverting to Harrisburg to land and refuel. As it happened Harrisburg was closer to our final destination than Philly, but we were also told no one could leave the plane at this airport, as there were no Immigration or Customs agents on duty. There’s a small GA airport near my USA house that’s “international.” GA pilots who properly inform immigration and customs that they’re coming in from Ontario (nothing else in range) are cleared to land (and get off the plane) there. What I wonder from the GA perspective, though, is whether a pilot coming in from Ontario and properly cleared could land (and get off the plane) at a different, non-“international” GA airport? ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/international-airports/591349/31 "2011-08-05T02:27:02Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > There’s a small GA airport near my USA house that’s “international.” GA pilots who properly inform immigration and customs that they’re coming in from Ontario (nothing else in range) are cleared to land (and get off the plane) there. > > What I wonder from the GA perspective, though, is whether a pilot coming in from Ontario and properly cleared could land (and get off the plane) at a different, non-“international” GA airport? Aircraft crossing the border must make their first landing at an airport with customs and go through processing. After that they could continue on elsewhere. Such an airport would likely be called an international, but an airport with that term in the title doesn’t necessarily have customs facilities. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/international-airports/591349/32 "2011-08-05T02:44:03Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > What I wonder from the GA perspective, though, is whether a pilot coming in from Ontario and properly cleared could land (and get off the plane) at a different, non-“international” GA airport? I think that would depend. The airport I mentioned above–Coutts/Ross International Airport–only serves GA aircraft, but there is a land crossing just a few hundred yards to the east. It doesn’t take long for Canada Customs/US Customs (as the case may be at Coutts/Ross) to arrive on the scene and clear the aircraft. But I’m a little farther north of there, and our local airport (Lethbridge County Airport, YQL) has no scheduled service to or from the USA; and perhaps as a result, does not call itself an international airport. However, it has customs facilities, and I’m led to believe that they will be staffed if a GA aircraft from the US requests it. How quickly, I am unsure; but the point is that YQL could handle customs for an incoming international GA flight upon request. I would imagine that the same situation would occur in the case of (say) small Michigan “non-international” airports that might well be visited by Ontario aircraft occasionally. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/international-airports/591349/33 "2011-08-05T03:39:47Z")
> [@sachertorte](#): > > I flew to Houston last week. Their airport (or at least one of them) advertises that they are an “Intercontinental” Airport. I guess that’s to advertise that they don’t just go to Mexico, which wouldn’t be all that impressive given Houston’s location. That would be IAH, or Bush Intercontinental as it’s officially known, and the moniker is reasonably legit as, aside from several long-established routes to Europe and South America, flights have recently been added to to Singapore and Dubai, and there’s a regular oilfield employee charter to Luanda, Angola. I’m wondering if there are any other officially-named intercontinental airports. I don’t know of one. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/international-airports/591349/34 "2011-08-05T04:57:47Z")
I recall Lubbock International Airport back in West Texas. They had flights to Mexico. Then they stopped that but retained the “International.” Seemed odd, but I never considered the cargo aspect. That could have been it. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/international-airports/591349/35 "2011-08-06T10:13:00Z")
Canberra Airport (in Australia’s capital) used to be Canberra International Airport until it was pointed out that it hasn’t had scheduled international flights anywhere for years (and even those- a brief service to Fiji in about 2004- were a blip on the radar, if you’ll excuse the pun). To answer the OP’s question, my understanding of the term “International Airport” means the airport has customs/immigration facilities and regularly scheduled flights to/from overseas destinations. ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2011, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/international-airports/591349/36 "2011-08-07T14:19:30Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > … > To answer the OP’s question, my understanding of the term “International Airport” means the airport has customs/immigration facilities and regularly scheduled flights to/from overseas destinations. From the examples we’ve been given, it seems that these prerequisites are merely suggestions (and not requirements). ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2011, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/international-airports/591349/37 "2011-08-07T23:29:19Z")
Right, it has no legal meaning, it’s just advertising. So is the name of Wyoming’s [Greater Green River Intergalactic Spaceport.](http://www.airnav.com/airport/48U) ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/international-airports/591349/38 "2011-08-08T09:11:42Z")
> [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#): > > From the examples we’ve been given, it seems that these prerequisites are merely suggestions (and not requirements). That might be true in the US, but I’d be interested to see how it holds elsewhere in the world- I can’t imagine that, for example, Invercargill (in NZ) could get away with calling itself an international airport for long if there aren’t any flights to other countries from it. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 9:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/international-airports/591349/39 "2011-08-08T09:43:59Z")
There is a differnce between being called an International Airport and being one. For the latter; there are certain prerequisites; customs, immigration etc. Indeed many airports have terminals which are domestic only and International flights cannot disembark there. ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/international-airports/591349/40 "2011-08-08T11:04:00Z")
In Erie PA we call our Airport “International” Canada is only 26 miles across the lake so once in a while a small planes fly to an international destination. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/international-airports/591349.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/international-airports/591349.md?page=3)