Story ID: 
Customs Comes To Houston-area Gateway
By: Curt Epstein
Caption: The new customs facility is the result of a public-private partnership.
Word Count: 149
Starting around the middle of July, the former Lone Star Executive Airport (CXO), now Conroe-North Houston Regional Airport, will offer U.S. Customs service from a newly constructed $2.4 million CBP facility. The 3,200-sq-ft building is located on the ramp next to the Galaxy FBO. Construction–funded by a public/private partnership consisting of Montgomery County, Conroe Industrial Development Council, FBO-operator Black Forest Ventures, The Woodlands Economic Development Partnership, and the Shenandoah Municipal Development District–began last September.

The service will incur a user fee and be staffed by U.S. Customs during regular hours of 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and available after hours on demand. County-owned CXO, 46 miles outside Houston, has a 7,500-foot main runway. The newly added customs service will allow long-range business jets to fly direct from Central and South America, Canada and Europe, bypassing the congested metro-Houston airspace.