Brunswick Executive Airport could become a new destination for international travelers. But first, the airport needs to prove the travelers will come.
The private airport received half a million dollars in federal funding in 2022 to create a new U.S. Customs and Border Protection facility that will allow official entry to international travelers. Right now, international travelers who want to fly into Brunswick have to clear customs at another U.S. airport first.
Before the facility can be built, the airport needs to show that international travelers will come. Brunswick Executive Airport officials expect to complete a feasibility study by the end of the year, said Kristine Logan, executive director of the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority, which owns and operates the airport.
If the Brunswick airport can show that there is enough interest from businesses and those flying to support a customs facility, then the facility will be approved and ready to look for construction funding, Logan said. It’s unclear how much building the facility will cost.
“We do believe that we have enough interest in aviation companies locating here that would require customs facilities that we think we can support it, but of course we want to have the data to back that up,” Logan said.
The Brunswick airport is where President Joe Biden flew into Maine on Friday, before visiting Auburn to deliver remarks about manufacturing. The airport is also popular among those visiting nearby Bath Iron Works, Logan said.
Logan is hopeful that international travelers with private planes will fly into Brunswick for maintenance and renovations to their planes, as domestic planes do now. She has also previously said it could be a refueling stop for those flying from Europe.
The 200-foot-wide runway at Brunswick is a plus, Logan said. She said one of the reasons why Air Force One flew into the airport on Friday is because it had space to land and turn around right on the runway.
“We’re so close to Canada and we’re only a hop across the pond from Europe, so it’s a great location to have a customs facility,” Logan said.
