Busy Skies in New York Could Benefit Newburgh Airport

With congestion growing at New York City's three major airports, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is taking a new look at Stewart International in Newburgh, a facility with lots of space, two very long runways and not very many passengers.

The move by the Port Authority board last week to study Stewart faces hurdles. But it's nevertheless being welcomed by Orange County Executive Edward Diana, who said he suggested the takeover in a letter to the Port Authority.

The move, some say, could bring additional service and investment to the airport, including extension of a commuter rail line that would speed the trip between Stewart and midtown Manhattan.

In the near term, at least, an expanded Stewart would pose little or no competitive threat to Albany International Airport, say officials and industry analysts.

National Express Group, a United Kingdom-based transpor tation company that has a 99-year lease to operate Stewart, said in September it would exercise an option to sell that lease, which it signed in March 2000. In addition to the Port Authority, at least two other operators have expressed an interest in Stewart, said Maureen Halahan, president and chief executive officer of the Orange County Partnership, a regional economic development group. She declined to name the others.

Any transfer of the lease to a new operator would need the approval of the state Department of Transportation, which owns Stewart, said DOT spokeswoman Jennifer Post.

But Diana said he expects a decision on a new operator could be made by next spring.

The Port Authority decided to focus on Stewart after considering a half-dozen smaller, regional airports around New York City.

"All indications are Stewart has the most potential and makes the most sense," said Port Authority spokesman Marc Lavorgna. "The goal is to have an increase in flights there. We're not just talking commercial, we're talking cargo, too."

Stewart would target the 11 million people who used LaGuardia, Newark or Kennedy airports last year and who live north of New York City, he said.

Still, he said it could be years before Stewart takes its place alongside the other three airports.

"Development of airports in this country is a pretty long process," Lavorgna said.

At Albany International Airport, spokesman Doug Myers said Stewart's impact would depend on what additional airlines and service it attracts, and how competitive they were.

In Albany, "Southwest is very competitive," Myers said, and helps the airport attract passengers from as far as Quebec, northern Vermont, Syracuse and western Massachusetts.

It also attracts customers from the mid-Hudson Valley, a market from which Stewart also draws.

But the Newburgh airport currently offers limited air service. JetBlue and AirTran Airways both plan to begin serving Stewart but will fly only to Florida and Georgia from there.

Michael Boyd of The Boyd Group, an Evergreen, Colo.-based airline consulting firm, sees no impact on Albany from the Port Authority's move.

"It's a real leap of faith to say you could develop it into a fourth New York City airport," he said. From places like White Plains, "driving to Stewart is just as bad as driving to LaGuardia," he said.

As for Albany, at 90 miles away, Stewart "is too far down the valley," Boyd said.

Stewart is getting better highway connections, though. Drury Lane, its main access road, is being widened, and direct access is planned to Interstate 84 and the state Thruway.

And Halahan, of the Orange County Partnership, said the interest by other parties in taking over National Express Group's lease to operate Stewart means "it's not a slam dunk" that the Port Authority will get the nod. "Although they're seasoned airport owners, they're not stellar in the game," she said.

Lavorgna said that even if the Port Authority succeeds with Stewart, it will have little impact on Albany. "I don't see what the impact would be," he said. "Travelers want choices. The more options you have, the better. ... We don't see LaGuardia competing with JFK."

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