Stewart numbers down …
… even as future bodes a boom
By KATHY KAHN
Stewart Airport is putting up some
attention-getting numbers, forecasting a tripling of
passengers in the next 17 years, but acknowledging
a 15 percent tumble from expected numbers this year.
A 45-minute presentation May 6 on the airports’ future
by transportation analysts Charles Van Cook and Matt
Lee predicted at least 3.7 million passengers passing
through the Newburgh airport per year by 2025. Their
report was part of a federal study on airport capacity
done in the Northeast corridor.
The data surfaced during Stewart International Airport’s
community advisory panel meeting, its second such confab
since the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
took over the airport in November.
Lee compared Stewart’s growth to that of Albany International
Airport, saying Stewart, like Albany, will eventually
become a strong regional airport. Currently, only 13
per cent of those who live in the Hudson Valley are
using Stewart. The rest, said Lee, are still traveling
south to Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark.
“Eventually, when this airport can meet the needs of
area travelers, both with runway and terminal capacity,
it will meet or exceed Albany or Connecticut’s Bradley
International Airport,” Lee said.
The proposed rail line linking Stewart with the MTA’s
Salisbury Mills station would also increase the airport’s
desirability factor for both passengers and cargo,
said Lee.
Airport general manager Diannae Ehler say the 2008
passenger load will not exceed the projected 1 million
mark because of economic conditions and the unexpected
loss of Skybus, which declared bankruptcy earlier this
year. “The number will be closer to 850,000,” Ehler
told the group.
While out-of-country destinations may be achievable
by initially utilizing charter flights, a separate
terminal would be needed to make international flights
a permanent part of the airport’s roster. Talks with
Irish-based Ryanair are ongoing, she said.
Ehler also wants vendors in the Hudson Valley to bid
on work at the airport as part of its strategy to partner
with the local community. The Orange County Chamber
of Commerce will host a special forum, “How to do business
with the Port Authority,” on June 13 from 10 a.m. to
1 p.m. at the chamber’s headquarters in Montgomery.
Rising costs are causing anxious times in many industries
and fuel-dependent airports are not immune. Stewart,
like other airports, is feeling the pinch of fuel prices
and watching as airlines consolidate services – or
go out of business, as in the case of Skybus.
Stressing the Port Authority has only managed the airport
for six months, Ehler said her primary concerns were
passenger safety, immediate improvements for parking
and easy access and the airport’s continued growth,
particularly for cargo.
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