Stewart Numbers Down

By Kahn, Kathy

Stewart International 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 percent 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.

Diannae Ehler, the airport’s general manager, said 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,” she said.

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 said it will host a special forum, “How to do business with the Port Authority” June 13 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m: at the chamber 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.

Copyright Westfair Communications May 19, 2008

(c) 2008 Westchester County Business Journal. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.