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Anyone been to the British Virgin Islands (BVI) - Tortola TUPJ recently? We are flying in on the 1st of April and I need to figure out where to park and how to handle customs. However, I cannot determine which FBO to use nor even figure out where they are located. I've identified five different FBO names, yet I can only positively identify IAM, which is now Signature.

AirNav calls out Platinum BVI Services and ASBVI Services. Foreflight calls out ASBVI, Caribbean Inc, IAM and Sol Aviation.
Avfuel has pricing for IAM and Caribbean Inc. WorldFuel & AEG have pricing for IAM and Sol Aviation


I heard back from Platinum so at least I know they exist. They’re supposedly located inside the main terminal building, no standalone FBO. According to Google Earth, IAM (Signature) appears to be in their own wing of the main terminal. I have no clue where the others are supposedly located.


Any help would be appreciated!

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I haven't been there, but I'll put in a plug for CST Flight Services to do international planning and permits (and arrange ground handling). Rick Gardner from CST posts here on occasion. I used them for a flight to Grand Cayman last year and it was pretty simple and reasonably priced (compared to the overall cost of the flight). They have a "membership" offering but you can just use them for a single trip without joining. Worth it in my book when flying somewhere for the first time to avoid any surprises.

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I use Travis Holland of Shepherd Aero https://shepherd.aero/

Travis and his team do full trip support throughout the world.

Shepherd also is a sponsor of phenompilots.org.

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Phil- Call Pamela 284-346-8249 at Signature (previously IAM Jet centre), she does a great job and processing through Customs etc is a breeze. Or email at [email protected]

Have a great trip!

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There is no FBO there (at least when I was there circa 2 years ago). Just handlers that marshal you to parking and bring you from the ramp through security.

Customs will expect payment for duties for anything going through that looks that it is new and not a personal item.

I used Platinum last time I went there.

According to my fuel map AEG looks to have the best pricing on fuel at $5.50 USD/Gallon

Unfortunately the airport experience private is no better than commercial. You still go through the same security and customs lines. If you arrive at the same time as a commercial flight expect a wait. They won't be aware of the limited turning radius of the Phenom when parking you.

There is a very large hill next to the airport. If you are given the visual for 25 left traffic you won't want to squeeze between the hill and the airport circle outside of the hill. Note that runway 7 minimum is quite high - 1040' and rwy 25 isn't that much better at 750'.

If you are on a boat watch out for the submerged rocks just near the airport. You know, in case you are distracted looking to see if you can see your plane parked there. Don't ask me how I know.

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I'm into Beef (TUPJ) 3-4 times a year for the past 10 years...there is an FBO (IAM/Signature) and they are great folks with a very nice albeit small'ish facility, however....they are very expensive charging well over $1200 for handling fees alone on a Phenom 100 and admit that they are for the Gulf Stream crowd. The best option is Platinumport, their pre-arrival communications are as good if not better than anything you will ever receive stateside, they meet you planeside in an 12 person golf cart with drinks and cold towels and take you to a nice cool waiting area with snacks etc. while they handle all of the bags and the customs paperwork- once completed they walk with you through customs and take you curbside to meet your bags. Reasonable fees and great service- do not hesitate to use Moses, Edward and their entire team....not fancy but great folks who understand GA- they also file your flight plan for the outbound as fltplan.com is not recognized by the local authorities. Fuel can be purchased through them but the cheapest solution is to call Signature for fuel- no fees etc. just the fuel cost which is fair. Moses Barrett 284 546-1298 [email protected].

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I'm into Beef (TUPJ) 3-4 times a year for the past 10 years...there is an FBO (IAM/Signature) and they are great folks with a very nice albeit small'ish facility, however....they are very expensive charging well over $1200 for handling fees alone on a Phenom 100 and admit that they are for the Gulf Stream crowd. The best option is Platinumport, their pre-arrival communications are as good if not better than anything you will ever receive stateside, they meet you planeside in an 12 person golf cart with drinks and cold towels and take you to a nice cool waiting area with snacks etc. while they handle all of the bags and the customs paperwork- once completed they walk with you through customs and take you curbside to meet your bags. Reasonable fees and great service- do not hesitate to use Moses, Edward and their entire team....not fancy but great folks who understand GA- they also file your flight plan for the outbound as fltplan.com is not recognized by the local authorities. Fuel can be purchased through them but the cheapest solution is to call Signature for fuel- no fees etc. just the fuel cost which is fair. Moses Barrett 284 546-1298 [email protected].

Thanks for the info! We are flying out tomorrow and using Platinum for our handler.

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We used Platinum as noted above which cost $1750 for five passengers and 1 pilot vs $2550 for IAM/Signature. It was pretty basic handling service; adequate but not spectacular. My passengers had to wait in the common airport gate area, which was packed, while I fueled and loaded the jet. Not sure what was up with that give Platinum has its own small lounge. The parking upon arrival at TUPJ was a joke. The line guys clearly had no idea how to park a jet especially or how much room a Phenom 300 needs to conduct a 180 degree turn. Fortunately I was able to relay my concerns through the ground control and we managed to get it parked safely. The flight to TUPJ was far enough off-shore that we had to use HF and reporting points for a few waypoints. The way back we stayed with VHF the entire trip.