The late Archie Stewart at the entrance to the airport in
the early 1990s
STEWART AIRPORT – The Stewart Airport Commission, an advisory group
that provides advice and consent to the state transportation department,
the landlord of Stewart Airport, adopted a resolution on Tuesday supporting
the Port Authority’s exploration of a name change to give the Newburgh
area facility more of a global identity.
While no name has been advanced, Port Authority officials have said the
new name would likely include “New York” in it to market the
facility as a metropolitan New York City airport.
The agency is in the final stages of having a consultant study the issue
and make recommendations.
Commissioner Member Christopher White said a name change would honor the
Stewart family’s contribution by making the airport successful.
“If you are in another country or another state, you may not know
Newburgh, you may not know Stewart, you may not know Hudson Valley, but
you know New York,” he said.
If a new name is put on the table, there is still the issue of the lease
between the state and Port Authority which says the name will remain “Stewart
International Airport.”
Orange County Executive Steven Neuhaus doesn’t see that as insurmountable.
“That is something they will have to work out with their lawyers
and at the end of the day the Port Authority and New York State are pretty
much attached at the hip so they are going to have to work that out on
their own,” he said.
Airport Manager Edward Harrison told the Commission that travelers want
to get to New York as a destination and Stewart is a low-cost option to
New York.
