JetBlue plane at Stewart passenger gate

NEW YORK – The continuing fuel price crisis has again taken its toll on Stewart Airport.

JetBlue Tuesday said it would reduce service from the Newburgh airport on September 2. The West Palm Beach flight will be discontinued and the Orlando service will be reduced from two daily nonstop flights to one, an airline spokeswoman said. Its Fort Lauderdale service will remain at one flight per day.

Alison Eshelman said the West Palm route did not meet the airline’s performance expectations, therefore the aircraft would be deployed on a more profitable route.

“JetBlue is committed to continuing service at Stewart to complement our service to the greater New York metropolitan area,” said Eshelman. “These flights are seasonal pulldowns, which this year are greater than normal due to unprecedented fuel costs.  We anticipate growing service from Stewart in the future from this reduced level.”

JetBlue’s cutbacks come on the heels of AirTran’s recent announcement that it would leave Stewart in September for the same reason. And, startup airline Skybus, which had provided service from Stewart to Columbus, OH, only lasted weeks before it shut down completely.

Meanwhile, a spokeswoman for Delta Air Lines, which provides Stewart to Atlanta service, said they would cut back their number of daily flights in September from four to three.

Port Authority spokesman Marc LaVorgna, meanwhile, said the agency that runs Stewart looks at the facility in the long term.

“Right now it’s a bad time but hopefully it’s only a blip in the radar screen when you look at the big picture, the long run,” he said.

The agency remains committed to the long term development of the Newburgh airport, he said.

Orange County Chamber of Commerce President John D’Ambrosio said the airline industry is in turmoil.

I think that this is indicative what people are really afraid of at this point in time, and that is fuel prices going through the ceiling,” he said. “Everyone is trying to hedge their bets for the future and the airlines are no exception. Actually, they are the ones taking the lead.”

Last month, Senator Charles Schumer said he spoke with JetBlue’s CEO and received a commitment the airline would not leave Stewart and would consider expanding service.