Westchester County Airport Is Closing Temporarily

Once upon a time, Westchester County Airport operated roughly 40 flights a day. Soon, it won’t fly any. Westchester Airport is closing on Monday, temporarily. It’s the first airport in the United States to do so. Four airlines — United, Delta, JetBlue, and American — fly to 11 destinations from the airport in White Plains but represent just 14% of the airline’s operations. Westchester airport receives most of its traffic from private planes, some airplane owners will have to move to nearby airports.

While Westchester County Airport is closed, officials are taking the opportunity to repave the airport’s 6500-foot runway. While other airports in the nation are remaining open, they are also taking advantage of reduced passenger numbers to do much-needed maintenance.

While the construction will undoubtedly be noisy, it will be a welcome relief for Westchester County Airport’s neighbors which frequently complain about the noise from the corporate jets flying in and out of the airport. “It’s a lifting certainly of noise and air pollution from air travel, and that’s good for public health and sanity,” said George Klein, vice president of Sierra Club Lower Hudson Group.

While Westchester has made the decision to close, the decision is temporary. While smaller airports like Westchester fly fewer passengers, they are valuable airports for helping perishable cargo and other goods get around the United States more efficiently.

[Image: Wikimedia Commons]