Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is consistently ranked as the busiest airport in the world by passenger traffic. More than 100 million passengers travel through Atlanta every year. Any many are taking off on flights powered by fuel that was stored by a company using the U.S. foreign-trade zone program.

Georgia Foreign-Trade Zone supports fueling operations at Hartsfield-Jackson by providing access to the program’s duty deferral and duty elimination benefits. More than $1.4 billion worth of fuel – $420 million of which was received by a business working with us directly from overseas – made it’s way through Atlanta. The balance was moved in-bond from another facility under the umbrella of the U.S. foreign-trade zone program in the United States.

Fuel used for international flights are considered to be exported and zero dollars in duties are paid. When fuel is used for a domestic flight, duty payments are due at that time. This is a particularly important benefit for airlines at times of unexpected changes in travel behavior. The program allows fuel to remain warehoused indefinitely without being considered admitted into the U.S. market for the purposes of duty payment.