The U.S. Customs and Border Protection facility at the Tompkins County Airport is set to close.
The decision comes after a 13-1 vote of the county legislature in favor of closing. Lawmakers argued that the facility wasn’t used enough, carrying a net loss over the four-year period that it has been open.
Officials will now look into re-purposing the building.
The airport itself will not close. But with no customs facility operating on site, planes arriving from overseas or out of the country will now have to clear customs elsewhere before traveling into Tompkins County.
Legislator Greg Mezey says since the customs facility opened in 2020, fewer than 30 flights cleared customs at the airport.