Raleigh Exec to Provide U.S. Customs Services Clearing the Way for International Flights
SANFORD, N.C. — Raleigh Exec has signed agreements with U.S. Customs and Border Protection to provide customs services — clearing the way for international flights in and out of the growing general aviation airport.
Details about when customs services will begin and how they will be administered are now being finalized and will be announced soon.
The jetport has always been a final destination for flights into the United States, especially for individuals traveling on vacation to locations in the Caribbean and beyond and for the large number of executives working for international corporations doing business within a few miles of the airport. But those flights have had to stop at another airport on their way into the country to have passports checked and baggage cleared for entry into the United States.
In addition to U.S.-based international corporations doing business within a few miles of the jetport, several foreign-based companies operate nearby, including companies based in India, Japan and Vietnam.
Under the arrangement, part of the federal Reimbursable Services Program, flights originating outside the United States can fly directly to Raleigh Exec and be processed by federal customs officers working out of Raleigh-Durham International. Funding will be provided by the Sanford-Lee County Airport Authority, which operates Raleigh Exec, with some of that amount recovered by customs service fees for incoming flights.
“With our flourishing business environment and growing airport, we’re excited about offering customs services,” said Carter Keller, chairman of the Sanford-Lee County Airport Authority. “Right away, this will help expand local economic activity, travel and trade. But we’re also looking at other longterm options to help drive more regional economic growth.”
Customs services are just the latest addition to Raleigh Exec. Three major projects were announced or completed earlier this year.
Raleigh Exec was approved by the Federal Aviation Administration to construct an air traffic control tower that will allow air traffic to be managed by trained air traffic controllers based on the jetport grounds. That project, now in the design phase, could be completed within the next three years.
In late March, the jetport became North Carolina’s leader in electric aviation by opening the state’s first-ever aircraft charging station. The Charge Cube is part of a small campus of environmentally sensitive spaces built in partnership with BETA Technologies, a Vermont-based company creating a safe, reliable and sustainable electric transportation ecosystem.
And earlier this summer, Raleigh Exec opened a new bypass-taxiway parallel to the runway that enhances safety, accommodates more activity at the jetport and allows aircraft to move more efficiently on the ground. Still more projects are underway — including 27 aircraft hangars and a 1,500 square-foot maintenance facility.
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About Raleigh Exec
Billed as a premier corporate gateway to the Research Triangle, Raleigh Exec Jetport is a general aviation airport serving corporate and recreational flights in a region of central North Carolina that includes Raleigh, Durham, Cary, Chapel Hill, Sanford, Pittsboro, Chatham Park and the Research Triangle Park. Raleigh Exec operates on 1,250 acres off of U.S. Highway 1, just 15 miles from the Raleigh Outer Beltline. It is home to corporate aircraft, the North Carolina Forest Service, many aviation-related businesses and one of the nation’s largest and most respected flying clubs. More information is available at raleighexec.com.