New customs building at Dayton airport opens the door for international business

The project took a little over two years. Now, U.S. Customs and Border Protection can process foreign aircraft, passengers and crews who want to enter the Dayton International Airport.

Officials from Dayton and other states were on-hand to see the grand opening for the new facility. It is more than a $1 million investment designed to both strengthen security and create more opportunities for international business.

“After 9/11, they came up with new standards for these types of facilities,” said City of Dayton Director of Aviation Terry Slaybaugh. “And if we wanted to keep them here in Dayton, we had to meet those standards.”

Now that the facility is up and running, the airport is able to receive foreign flights with a specific number of passengers.

“We can have flights with up to 22 people on them arrive in Dayton internationally and be processed by U.S. Customs here,” Slaybough said.

City leaders said one of the goals for this new building is to open the door for more investors to do business in Dayton and allow them to take advantage of what the region has to offer.

“One that is most important that I’d like to underscore is revenue,” said Dayton City Commissioner Jeffery Mims. “Because those things help us do what we need to do to continue to improve the quality of service in the airport.”

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