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No more international flight arrivals on Drummond Island

flickr/Charles Dawley

International planes won’t be able to land on Drummond Island anymore. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials say they will no longer have agents at the Drummond Island Airport. That takes effect September 30.

Officials say they were only inspecting around 55 international arrivals per year, and it costs too much to continue offering customs services there. Private international planes will have to go about 60 miles west to Sault Ste. Marie for customs check-ins.

James Bailey, the manager of the Drummond Island Airport, says this change will hurt their bottom line, rerouting Canadian planes elsewhere that had brought them business in the past.

Boats crossing over from Canada will still be able to come directly to the island. They can check in with customs on a mobile app.

Morgan Springer is a contributing editor and producer at Interlochen Public Radio. She previously worked for the New England News Collaborative as the host/producer of NEXT, the weekly show which aired on six public radio station in the region.