Fourth N.Y. airport could help alleviate cargo congestion
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is scheduled on Nov. 1 to assume control of Stewart International Airport near Newburgh, about 55 miles north of New Jersey.
William R. DeCota, director of the authority's aviation department, said that while most of the agency’s attention will be focused on growing the airport’s passenger business, cargo could be an important part of Stewart’s future.
About 662,000 passengers flew into Stewart in the 12 months ending July 31, about double the same period a year. The authority thinks the total for the current calendar year will be up to 1 million passengers.
DeCota said the airport could play an important role in relieving congestion at the region’s airports, which are expected to see about 107.5 million air passengers this year, 125 million by 2015 and 150 million by 2025.
The agency has a similar challenge with cargo. Cargo volumes are small at Stewart, about 15,000 tons per year, compared to 2.7 million tons of cargo annually at the port authority's three airports. But the authority expects that number to grow rapidly in coming years, to 4.2 million tons of cargo by 2025.
DeCota said the agency’s airports have differing freight profiles. John F. Kennedy International, which handled just under 1.7 million tons of cargo in the fiscal year ended July 31, dominates the heavy cargo business. Newark Liberty International, which handled just under 1 million tons, is the region’s leader in small package and express shipments handled by companies such as FedEx and UPS. Cargo volumes are minor at LaGuardia, which handled about 20,000 tons annually.
What the future role of Stewart in the freight business is not yet clear.
DeCota notes that like Newark, it has good highway access, being located at the intersection of two highways, Interstates 87 and 84. Already integrated carriers FedEx, UPS, and Airborne have operations at Stewart.
The former military base has a runway nearly 12,000 feet long, so it is able to handle any sort cargo airplane, and has lots of land nearly 2,450 acres of property for development of freight facilities, he said.
Stewart is located in the midst of a large concentration of warehouses, including distribution centers run by Home Depot and Staples, and neighbors include a large regional U.S. Postal Service facility, DeCota said.
The airport is within the Newburgh-Stewart Economic Development Zone, which entitles local businesses that invest in the region or create jobs to various New York State tax credits. And portions of the airport are also located within Foreign Trade Zone 37. The Department of Agriculture also has an animal quarantine facility for imported animals.
“The airport is well positioned to create a lot more economic activity and jobs, centered round the needs of the people of the mid-Hudson Valley,” DeCota said.
But it may be a challenge to attract air freight middlemen — brokers, forwarders, container station operators — that are concentrated around JFK.