Aviation in New York City

New York City is the top international air passenger gateway to the United States.cite web|url=http://www.bts.gov/publications/us_international_travel_and_transportation_trends/html/table10.html|title=Table 10: Top 20 U.S. Gateways for Nonstop International Air Travel: 1990, |1995, and 2000|work=U.S. International Travel and Transportation Trends, BTS02-03|date=2002|publisher=Bureau of Transportation Statistics, U.S. Department of Transportation|accessdate=2007-02-18] 100 million travelers used the city's airports in 2005; New York is the busiest air gateway in the nation. [cite news|title=2005 Annual Airport Traffic Report|author=The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey|date=2006-11-02|url=http://www.panynj.gov/CommutingTravel/airports/pdfs/traffic/Air_Traffic_2005.pdf|accessdate=2007-02-18]

The city is served by three major airports, JFK International Airport, Newark Liberty International Airport and La Guardia Airport. JFK and Newark are connected to regional rail systems by light rail service. [See AirTrain JFK and AirTrain Newark.] 100 million travelers used New York's airports in 2005 as the city surpassed Chicago to become the busiest air gateway in the nation. [Bureau of Transportation Statistics, U.S. Department of Transportation. [http://www.bts.gov/publications/us_international_travel_and_transportation_trends/html/table10.html#1] ] JFK and Newark's outbound international travel accounted for nearly a quarter of all U.S. travelers who went overseas in 2004. [Bureau of Transportation Statistics, U.S. Department of Transportation. [http://www.bts.gov/publications/us_international_travel_and_transportation_trends/html/table10.html#1] ]

Floyd Bennett Field

The first municipal airport in the city (developed to lure business away from Newark) was Floyd Bennett Field, now an historic, recreational, and sporting area and part of the Gateway National Recreation Area, in turn part of the National Park System (NPS). The New York City Police Department leases facilities for their helicopter operations from the NPS there.

Flushing Airport

Flushing Airport was another early airport in New York City. It opened in 1927 and was busiest airport in New York for a time. A decade later it was shadowed by the larger LaGuardia Airport, which is located only a mile away. The airport was decommissioned in the 1984 after a fatal accident in 1977. Now the area is a piece of wetland owned by New York City Economic Development Corporation.

John F. Kennedy International Airport

JFK is the major entry point for international arrivals in the United States and is the largest international air freight gateway in the nation by value of shipments. [cite news|title=America's Freight Transportation Gateways|author=Bureau of Transportation Statistics, U.S. Department of Transportation|date=2004|url=http://www.bts.gov/publications/americas_freight_transportation_gateways/pdf/entire.pdf|accessdate=2007-02-18] About 100 airlines from more than 50 countries operate direct flights to JFK. The JFK-London Heathrow route is the leading U.S. international airport pair with over 2.9 million passengers in 2000.cite news|title=U.S. International Travel and Transportation Trends, BTS02-03|author=Bureau of Transportation Statistics, U.S. Department of Transportation|date=2002|url=http://www.bts.gov/publications/us_international_travel_and_transportation_trends/pdf/entire.pdf|accessdate=2007-02-18] Other top international destinations from JFK are Paris, Frankfurt, and Tokyo. The airport is located along Jamaica Bay near Howard Beach, Queens.

Newark Liberty International Airport

Newark was the first major airport serving New York City and is the fifth busiest international air gateway to the United States. Amelia Earhart dedicated the Newark Airport Administration Building in 1935, which was North America's first commercial airline terminal. In 2003, Newark became the terminus of the world's longest non-stop scheduled airline route, Continental's service to Hong Kong. In 2004, Singapore Airlines broke Continental's record by starting direct 18-hour flights to Singapore. The airport is located in Newark, New Jersey, about 12 miles west of downtown Manhattan.

LaGuardia Airport

LaGuardia, the smallest of New York's primary airports, handles domestic flights. It is named for Fiorello H. LaGuardia, the city's great Depression-era mayor known as a reformist and strong supporter of the New Deal. A perimeter rule prohibits incoming and outgoing flights that exceed 1,500 miles (2,400 km) except on Saturdays, when the ban is lifted, and to Denver, Colorado which has a grandfathered exemption. As a result, most transcontinental and international flights use JFK and Newark. [cite news|title=Long Distance at La Guardia|author=The New York Sun|date=2005-08-05|url=http://www.nysun.com/article/18053|accessdate=2007-02-18] The airport is located in northern Queens about 6 miles from downtown Manhattan.

Teterboro Airport

Teterboro Airport is a general aviation "reliever" airport located in the Boroughs of Teterboro, Moonachie, and Hasbrouck Heights in Bergen County, New Jersey [1] . It is operated by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The airport is 12 miles (19 km) from midtown Manhattan in the New Jersey Meadowlands, which makes it very popular for private and corporate aircraft.

Essex County Airport

Essex County Airport is a popular general aviation airport for aircraft traveling to New York City and northern New Jersey. The airport has completed many upgrades to operational status including new hangars, high intensity pilot controlled lighting, PAPI, Rwy 22 repaved and restripped. Future projects for the airport have been yet to be released by airport officials. Essex County Airport stands to be a primary entry point for VLJ traffic. The airport is the nearest field to NYC with a runway of 4,553 ft with minimal jet traffic, and no commercial traffic. A direct link to transit makes it is an alternative choice for jets traveling to the New York City area, without the delays of larger airports.

Other aviation

New York is also served by several smaller airports in its suburban areas. Long Island MacArthur Airport is about forty-five minutes east of New York, and is the New York airport of choice for Southwest Airlines. Westchester County Airport, located about thirty minutes north of New York in White Plains, is sometimes favored by New York travellers because it is significantly smaller and thus less busy than the three major airports. It has recently become the airport of choice for AirTran Airways. Further to the north is Stewart International Airport.

Teterboro Airport, located in Bergen County, New Jersey, and Republic Airport, in East Farmingdale, New York, are New York City's primary general aviation airports.

There is also seaplane service at the 23rd Street Skyport located on the East River.

Heliports

*Downtown Manhattan Heliport, located at the eastern end of Wall Street on Pier 6, on the East River, was the first heliport in the United States to be certified for scheduled passenger helicopter service by the Federal Aviation Administration. The heliport is the normal landing spot for President George W. Bush on visits to New York. The soundproof terminal contains gift shops, administrative offices, a VIP lounge and general passenger waiting area, as well as X-ray and bomb-detection machines at a security checkpoint. U.S. Helicopter operates regularly scheduled flights to JFK Airport. The flights last less than 10 minutes and cost $159 each way.
*East 34th Street Heliport, which consists of a terminal building and fuel filling station and averages 20,000 take-offs and landings each year. In July 2007 US Helicopter announced plans for scheduled service on weekends between the heliport and East Hampton Airport with a roundtrip ticket price of $1,600 [ [http://www.nysun.com/article/57733 - New Hamptons Transit Airs on Side of Luxury - New York Sun - July 3, 2007] ]
*West 30th Street Heliport. Open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the West 30th Street Heliport can see as much as three times the traffic of the Downtown Manhattan Heliport during peak travel periods.

ee also

* Transportation to New York City area airports
* Transportation in New York City

References