Kissimmee Gateway Airport just moved a lot closer to stamping passports of its own, with city officials announcing that U.S. Customs and Border Protection has granted preliminary approval for a user-fee facility designation. If the airport follows through and builds an on-site customs facility, private and charter flights arriving from abroad would be able to clear U.S. immigration and customs in Kissimmee instead of detouring through bigger hubs.
CBP Nod And The Fine Print
According to the City of Kissimmee, CBP's preliminary approval comes with conditions. The city still has to sign a memorandum of understanding with the agency and build a CBP-compliant inspection facility on the airport grounds. Construction must begin within three years of the preliminary approval, and the city says it expects work to start in 2027, with the facility likely taking about two years to complete.
What City Leaders Are Saying
“We have worked for a long time to make this happen,” City Manager Mike Steigerwald said in the city announcement, describing the potential designation as a win for both residents and regional partners. Airport Director Shaun Germolus and other leaders point to the airport’s current scale of activity — about 400 operations a day and roughly 135,000 takeoffs and landings a year — as evidence that Kissimmee can handle additional international private and charter traffic, according to Capital Analytics Associates.
Where Kissimmee Fits In The Region
Nearby Orlando International Airport is already a heavyweight, handling nearly 58 million total passengers and roughly 8.5 million international travelers in 2025, the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority reports. That volume highlights why additional points of entry could ease pressure on the region’s main gateway. It also adds a local twist: Osceola County has long been the only Central Florida county without an international airport, a gap noted by the Orlando Sentinel.
Next Steps And The Timeline
The airport plans to team up with regional partners on design, permitting and construction as the project moves forward, FOX 35 Orlando reported. Before CBP will sign off on a permanent designation, officials still need to hammer out operational logistics with the agency, finish engineering plans, and lock in cost estimates.
Who Might Use Kissimmee As An Entry
Airport and city officials say the customs designation would be especially appealing to private and charter operators flying from South America and the Caribbean, a market they expect Kissimmee to tap first, the Orlando Sentinel reported. Longer term, the city is also eyeing a possible foreign-trade zone and other future uses aimed at broadening the airport’s commercial reach.
For now, the announcement marks the kickoff of a long runway of planning and procurement. The airport says it will coordinate closely with CBP as designs and budgets are finalized, a process city leaders describe as deliberate but geared toward unlocking new tourism and business growth for Kissimmee and Osceola County.
