Tanya Vanasse, general manager of marketing for Stewart International Airport in Newburgh, has a message for Hudson Valley residents on the east side of the river when they plan their next trip.
“Look up north and over the bridge, there are a lot of great things happening at Stewart,” she said.
Speaking at the annual breakfast of the Putnam County Economic Development Corp. last week, Vanasse said the continued growth and success of the airport is vital for the entire Hudson Valley.
In that vein, she urged residents to look at the valley as a unified region, with Stewart being a vital hub.
“The Hudson Valley is a place where businesses and friends connect over county lines,” she said. “Economic development at Stewart means good things for Putnam. A strong regional airport is a draw for business throughout the Hudson Valley.”
Vanasse said development is “booming” at the airport, with a large hotel being built in the immediate area and the construction of several additional airplane hangars.
“There”™s an awful lot of investment in infrastructure,” she said.
She told members of the business community the goal should be to market Putnam County and the whole Hudson Valley as a global tourist destination.
“The Hudson Valley is going to be a tourism capital in the world,” she said. “Stewart will play a big role in that.”
She said airlines are starting to see Stewart as a viable moneymaking option. After seeing the success AirTran and JetBlue have had at the airport, she said Delta will soon be offering flights again at Stewart, after pulling out of the airport last year.
“Now that the competition is there, Stewart is really going to take off,” she said.
Perhaps the biggest factor in Stewart”™s future success is its takeover by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Vanasse said.
The Port Authority bought the lease for the airport for $75 million earlier this year and has promised to grow it into the New York metropolitan area”™s fourth major airport.
Â
According to the Port Authority, LaGuardia, JFK and Newark-Liberty airports are expected to handle a combined 150 million passengers by 2025, up from the current 104 million. Eleven million of those current passengers hail from Westchester and the other counties within the Hudson Valley, and the authority is looking to poach most of those customers to Stewart.
The airport serves about 900,000 customers a year, and Vanasse said the Port Authority is looking to raise that number to 3 million. The airport could accommodate it; at 2,220 acres, Stewart is larger than Newark-Liberty.
But Vanasse assured listeners Stewart has no plans to grow into an airport on the scale of a JFK, for example.
“It”™s not like JFK or LaGuardia will suddenly be plunked down in the Hudson Valley.”
But she did predict that the development of Stewart will only help the business community of the Hudson Valley.
“Having a strong, regional airport will attract business.”
Â
Â
