Plan for new MacArthur flights grounded
Passengers inside Islip's MacArthur Airport. (Jan. 7, 2010) Credit: Newsday/John Paraskevas
The one thing Long Island MacArthur Airport wants more than anything else is more regularly scheduled airline service to complement flights by Southwest Airlines and USAirways Express. And last week airport commissioner Teresa Rizzuto thought she had an airline nailed down and was preparing a big announcement.
Alas, she told us Friday, the airline -- which she adamantly declined to name -- backed out because of soaring fuel costs.
The airline in question, Rizzuto said, planned to begin service this summer. Would the airline consider beginning service next summer? "Maybe," Rizzuto said.
Rizzuto is a fighter, and plans to start again immediately to secure more airline service to the airport in Ronkonkoma.
A $158,000 study of the airport released earlier this month said the facility could more than double its annual passengers to 4.4 million if it offers nonstop flights to the top 25 destinations of New York-area travelers. Those include Dallas, Atlanta and Los Angeles.
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