{"id":6127,"date":"2026-07-01T17:37:49","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T17:37:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=6127"},"modified":"2026-07-01T17:37:49","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T17:37:49","slug":"kissimmees-gateway-airport-looks-to-go-international","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=6127","title":{"rendered":"Kissimmee\u2019s Gateway Airport looks to go international"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Kissimmee Gateway Airport could soon allow international flights to land and take off from its airfield near the heart of Central Florida\u2019s tourism district.<\/p>\n

Read more Florida\u2019s GOP candidates for governor hate taxes. These 2 didn\u2019t pay them<\/a><\/p>\n

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency recently granted the municipal airport preliminary approval to be designated as a \u201cUser Fee Facility,\u201d paving the way for the airfield to allow small planes flying in from other countries to land on its runways.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like having a Christmas present placed under the Christmas tree just for you,\u201d said Shaun Germolus, director of aviation for the airport, in describing his and other officials\u2019 excitement over the federal agency\u2019s recent announcement.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know that it will contribute to tourism and economic development in the region,\u201d he said. \u201cWe claim to be the closest [airport] to the Convention Center and the theme parks.\u201d<\/p>\n

Osceola, despite its growing size, is the only Central Florida county without an international airport.<\/p>\n

Orange has the gargantuan Orlando International; Seminole has Orlando-Sanford International; Brevard has Melbourne Orlando International; Volusia has Daytona Beach International; and Lake \u2014 the smallest of the five \u2014 has Leesburg International.<\/p>\n

So does this mean that jumbo jets with hundreds of passengers from all over the world will be landing at Kissimmee Gateway, off Dyer Boulevard, just south of the U.S. Highway 192?<\/p>\n

Not exactly.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

A \u201cuser fee facility\u201d designation allows smaller regional airports to accept international flights such as a private business\u2019 aircraft flying in from another country.<\/p>\n

Typically, a \u201cuser fee facility\u201d airport pays the federal government for the services of the Border Patrol \u2014 including staffing a customs officer. At the larger airports, such as Orlando International, those services are paid for by the federal agency.<\/p>\n

In turn, the smaller airport recovers those costs by charging the pilots, passengers or charter companies landing at its facility.<\/p>\n

The benefit to the area is that smaller aircraft can clear customs at the regional airports rather than tying up traffic at the larger airports, which receive the big airlines.<\/p>\n

Read more As the World Cup grows more global, many fans still struggle to get there<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

It would also ease pressures at Orlando International \u2014 with 40 airlines and nearly 59 million passengers annually, including 8.5 million international passengers \u2014 when it nears capacity.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s all the air traffic [of smaller planes] that we don\u2019t want congesting the air space over OIA,\u201d Germolus said.<\/p>\n

He added Kissimmee Gateway handles just over 140,000 landings and takeoffs a year, or about 400 per day on average. The majority are small commercial jets and private planes.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s not a done deal yet.<\/p>\n

The Kissimmee airport must first build a separate facility on its property that is compliant with U.S. Customs and Border Protection standards to process the incoming passengers.<\/p>\n

In the coming months, the city will hire companies to put together design and engineering plans and develop a cost estimate. Construction is expected to begin in 2027 and completed by 2028.<\/p>\n

When finished and the designation is fully granted, the airport will be able to accommodate a growing number of private charter flights from South America and the Caribbean, officials said.<\/p>\n

Does it also mean Kissimmee Gateway will soon add \u201cInternational\u201d to its name?<\/p>\n

\u201cWe may call it the Kissimmee Intergalactic Airport,\u201d Germolus said with a laugh in reference to the Star Wars: Galaxy\u2019s Edge at nearby Disney\u2019s Hollywood Studios. \u201cBut the name Kissimmee Gateway Airport works well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, city officials called the preliminary designation an \u201cimportant milestone\u201d for the airfield.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have worked for a long time to make this happen,\u201d said Mike Steigerwald, Kissimmee\u2019s city manager, in a press release. \u201cThis designation has real value for our residents, our businesses and our regional partners.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Florida confirms Stuart Bell as UF\u2019s 14th president<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency recently granted the municipal airport preliminary approval to be designated as a \u201cUser Fee Facility,\u201d paving the way for the airfield to allow small planes flying in from other countries to land on its runways.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6126,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,34],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6127","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-transportation"],"yoast_head":"\nKissimmee\u2019s Gateway Airport looks to go international - Orlando Relocation Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=6127\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Kissimmee\u2019s Gateway Airport looks to go international - 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