STEWART AIRPORT – Startup airline US Global Airways, which is hoping to commence transatlantic service from Stewart International Airport near Newburgh, is getting closer to making that a reality.
The airline needs FAA Part 121 certification to allow it to operate as a commercial carrier and that process can take a long period of time.
The one way to speed that up is to buy another airline that already has that certification. US Global is headed in that direction, Stewart Manager Ed Harrison told Mid-Hudson News.
“I believe they are in the process of purchasing an airline for the purpose of fast-tracking their certificate with the FAA that will give them the authority to fly,” Harrison said. “Once that is complete, that will be an announcement and they expect to fast-track their ambitions.”
When US Global announced its plans last May, its president Anthony Koulouris said they would explore fast-tracking the approval process with such an airline purchase.
The company plans to lease a fleet of B767-300 aircraft which will carry passengers, cargo and mail between Stewart and possible destinations including London, Paris, Barcelona, Nice, Naples, Athens, Warsaw, Budapest, Prague, St. Petersburg and Tel Aviv.
The airline is a restructured version of Baltia Air Lines, a paper airline at JFK that never flew in its more than 10-year existence.
