Plans to build a new $20 million terminal building at the Sullivan County Airport in the Town of Bethel have taken off with the May 30 closing of the existing John J.J. McGough Terminal. The airport is located on a 600-acre hilltop about five miles northwest of Monticello.
The existing 55-year-old building is due to be replaced with a 12,000-square-foot two-story terminal that will offer state-of-the-art facilities including a mezzanine, outdoor deck and offices that Sullivan County expects to offer for rent.
“Airport operations will be unaffected,” said the county’s Public Works Commissioner Edward McAndrew. “Throughout the two years of this project, the airport will remain open for takeoffs, landings, maintenance, repairs, storage, refueling and flight instruction.”
Pilots and passengers flying to the airport during the construction period will be able to use a pilot lounge inside of Hangar H7. There also are 24-hour bathrooms inside the Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting Building, which is next to the terminal area.
The Sullivan County Legislature recently accepted an $18.5 million grant from the Governor”™s Upstate Airport Development & Revitalization Program, administered by the New York State Department of Transportation to help fund the terminal project. The Sullivan County Legislature added $4 million of county funding.
“We feel this rebuild is essential to attracting the kind of activity and development that the airport is capable of sustaining,” stated Legislature Chairman Robert A. Doherty. “Couple this with the other ongoing investments in the airport, and we believe this facility will be an attractive and competitive destination for aviation and non-aviation businesses.”
When the airport was opened in July of 1969, there was optimism that the DC-9 and Boeing 727 airliner jets of that day would soon by landing on Sullivan”™s 6,298-feet-long by 150-feet-wide runway in droves. Mohawk Airlines ran service to Montreal, Toronto, Buffalo, Elmira, and New York City with connections to Boston, Cleveland, Detroit, Pittsburgh, and Washington. The Concord Resort and Grossinger”™s joined forces in a plan to fly in guests for all-inclusive weekend and vacation packages. Ransome Airlines also operated at Sullivan for a time. However, passenger activity never reached the levels necessary for any of the operators to sustain service.
The county hopes to attract additional flights by personal and business aircraft in addition to regular airline service.
