We are happy to report that long queues at customs and immigration clearance counters at Boston International airport are now getting smaller. What used to take more than 3 hours is not taking under an hour. The average waiting time is now about 50 mins. Thanks to additional manpower from federal authorities and tanks to the unrelenting pressure from congressional delegation and business leaders to have made this possible.
This improvement has been made possible by a strong letter from US Senator Edward Markey and other congressional representatives to the department of Homeland security responsible for customs and border protection at terminal E of Logan International airport. This was supported by local business groups like Boston Cab companies, tourism companies etc. On one hand various lobbies have been working on increasing international footfall at Logan and on the other hand delays and long customs and immigrations queues were threatening to adversely affect tourism and business.
Massport Port authority blamed this on Customs officials for the bottleneck and long wait periods sometimes stretching over three hours and annoying passengers. But after the congressional push a team of officials from various parts of the city visited Logan Airport and implemented various changes. The cap on overtime allowed to passport agents has been lifted. Similarly funds have been allocated for pay for the overtime as well.
There are now more customs agents and more counters to facilitate faster clearance. Administrative officers have been reassigned to customs duties when the lines get too long. There are now digital kiosks for faster clearance.
Now the situation is much better and we hope the good work is maintained.