Not a busy passenger terminal
STEWART AIRPORT – The number of people to travel at Stewart Airport last year fell off by 11,000 from 2013, from 320,315 in 2013 to 309,357 in 2014. That is a 3.5 percent decline.
Airport Business Development Director Michael Torelli attributed that to the same airlines flying the same routes, but offering less frequency and fewer seats.
The statistics were provided to the Stewart Airport Commission on Tuesday and its vice president, Louis Heimbach wanted to know what the Port Authority was doing about boosting air service.
“If this were a business, we would be looking at going bankrupt,” Heimbach said. “The trends are not very good here.”
Commission Chairman James Wright, who along with Heimbach, was reelected to new terms at the heads of the advisory board, questioned why more service has not been secured.
Commission member Paul Quatarraro noted that the New York City airports continue to see passenger grow and airline expansion. Torelli said that is likely to continue until congestion gets to a point where airlines start using Stewart.
