NEW WINDSOR – “We’re going global,” were the first words spoken by Stewart Airport Manager Ed Harrison on Friday afternoon when he gave the okay for Port Authority crew members to unveil the new sign at the Bruenig Road entrance to the airport off Route 207.
It is now officially rebranded as “New York Stewart International Airport.”
Airport officials have been promoting the facility as a New York metropolitan area airport for over a year, ever since Norwegian Air began its daily flights from Europe with connecting bus service directly to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Manhattan.
Harrison noted that by rebranding Stewart, people looking to travel to New York will see the Hudson Valley airport listed along with JFK, LaGuardia and Newark.
“The reason we are doing this is to optimize Internet searches,” Harrison said. “When folks are looking for a New York option, Stewart pops right up and they can flight in and out of here.”
Orange County Chamber of Commerce President Lynn Cione, who watched as the plastic cover came down to show the new airport logo and a New York City skyline, echoed Harrison’s sentiments that it will help grow the facility and attract more service for both area residents and others arriving or departing from it.
The Stewart name was retained to honor the local Newburgh family that donated the initial acreage, part of their farm, back in the 1930s, to become an airport.
