Plattsburgh International Airport is a county public-use airport located three

nautical mile A nautical mile is a unit of length used in air, marine, and space navigation, and for the definition of territorial waters. Historically, it was defined as the meridian arc length corresponding to one minute ( of a degree) of latitude. Today ...

s (6 km) south of the central business district of the city of

Plattsburgh Plattsburgh ( moh, Tsi ietsénhtha) is a city in, and the seat of, Clinton County, New York, United States, situated on the north-western shore of Lake Champlain. The population was 19,841 at the 2020 census. The population of the surrounding ...

, within the Town of

Clinton County, New York Clinton County is a county in the north-easternmost corner of the state of New York, in the United States and bordered by the Canadian province of Quebec. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 79,843. Its county seat is the ci ...

, United States. About 85 percent of the airport's passengers in 2013 were Canadians, mostly from

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

. The airport is located at the former

Plattsburgh Air Force Base Plattsburgh Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force Strategic Air Command (SAC) base covering 3,447 acres (13.7 km²) in the extreme northeast corner of New York, located on the western shore of Lake Champlain opposite Burlingto ...

and has been owned by

Clinton County Clinton County may refer to: *Counties named for George Clinton, first and third Governor of New York, and later the fourth Vice President of the United States: **Clinton County, New York **Clinton County, Ohio *Counties named for DeWitt Clinton, s ...

since 2002. The old base is still being redeveloped by Plattsburgh Airbase Redevelopment Corporation, established in 1995 after the airbase closed. The airport's massive facilities have been upgraded to civilian aviation standards and the county fully transitioned here from

Clinton County Airport Clinton County Airport is a former county-owned public-use airport in Clinton County, New York, Clinton County, New York (state), New York, United States. It is located west of the central business district of the city of Plattsburgh. It served ...

as of June 2007. Passenger service began on June 18, 2007, and

has been shut down since then. All airline service in Plattsburgh goes through the airport, which has expanded its terminal building to accommodate more passengers and provide more gates for aircraft. Scheduled passenger service to Washington D.C. at this airport is subsidized by the

United States Department of Transportation The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT or DOT) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is headed by the secretary of transportation, who reports directly to the President of the United States and ...

via the

Essential Air Service Essential Air Service (EAS) is a U.S. government program enacted to guarantee that small communities in the United States, which had been served by certificated airlines prior to deregulation in 1978, maintained commercial service. Its aim is t ...

program. The airport was closed to air traffic from April 13, 2021, to approximately June 22, 2021 due to the middle section of the runway being repaved. It is included in the

National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS) is an inventory of U.S. aviation infrastructure assets. NPIAS was developed and now maintained by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). It identifies existing and proposed airports tha ...

for 2011–2015, which categorized it as a ''primary commercial service'' airport (more than 10,000 enplanements per year). As per

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...

records, the airport had 45,998 passenger boardings (enplanements) in 2008, 73,159 enplanements in 2009, 94,808 in 2010, and 139,698 in 2011.

History

closed Closed may refer to: Mathematics * Closure (mathematics), a set, along with operations, for which applying those operations on members always results in a member of the set * Closed set, a set which contains all its limit points * Closed interval, ...

on September 25, 1995, pursuant to the Defense Base Realignment and Closure Act of 1990 and the recommendations of the Base Realignment and Closure Commission. After the base was decommissioned, Plattsburgh Airbase Redevelopment Corporation was created to manage the property. The Plattsburgh Airbase Redevelopment Corporation split up the base into 165 parcels for redevelopment. The idea of opening a new commercial airport at the site of the former Plattsburgh Air Force Base dated back to at least 2000.LoTemplio, Joe.
Will it fly? - Moving Clinton County Airport to PARC to get further scrutiny
. ''Press Republican''. March 26, 2001. At the time, the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

still owned the runway, which made converting it into a civilian airport more difficult. Plattsburgh Airbase Redevelopment Corporation and Plattsburgh-North Country Chamber of Commerce both favored the opening of a new commercial airport and closing the old

. The county voted in favor of the move on July 13, 2000. County legislators held a public hearing about the idea on December 12, 2001; most of the residents who spoke at the meeting were in favor of the idea. In September 2003, the

awarded Plattsburgh International Airport $624,200 of funding to build a passenger terminal. In November 2003, the federal transportation funding bill included $2 million for the passenger terminal. A grant from the

funded security improvements in August 2004. In 2004, Precision Jet nearly selected to operate the new airport, but the county decided not to approve the contract because of a lack of detail in the business plan, concerns about whether the Federal Aviation Administration would approve the proposed terminal, questions about whether it was legal to give the company exclusive development rights, and concerns that delegating all control over decisions could negatively impact the county's long-term economic future. On March 1, 2005, the county ended its contract with Plattsburgh Airbase Redevelopment Corporation to operate the airport. Congress voted to approve a $721,000 grant for

for Plattsburgh International Airport in November 2004. The airport received another $1.6 million of federal funding for runway construction in March 2005 and $2.6 million of federal funding for construction of the terminal in April 2005. The county was approved for $500,000 of federal funding to construct an access road to the airport in August 2005. The airport's official groundbreaking was held on August 17, 2005, and it officially opened on April 26, 2006.LoTemplio, Joe.
New airport opens amid great fanfare - Plattsburgh International Airport opens amid great fanfare
. ''Press-Republican''. Friday, April 27, 2007.

Airport facilities

Plattsburgh International Airport's facilities include a runway and a concrete ramp for cargo and aircraft. Plattsburgh also has no night curfews or flight restrictions and enjoys calm weather year-round (97% VMC). It is also a

Foreign Trade Zone A free-trade zone (FTZ) is a class of special economic zone. It is a geographic area where goods may be imported, stored, handled, manufactured, or reconfigured and re-exported under specific customs regulation and generally not subject to cust ...

and

Empire Zone An Empire Zone is an area of up to two non-contiguous miles, in which tax incentives are offered by the state of New York, under the Empire Zones Program. This program was designed to bring new businesses and jobs to the state. In 1999, the New ...

, making it a virtually tax free zone for many enterprises. The airport promotes itself as ("

's American Airport"). Montreal does not have a secondary passenger airport in Canada; Plattsburgh is from the city, and the South Shore suburbs are closer to Plattsburgh airport than they are to Montreal-Trudeau International Airport. more than 80% of passengers are Canadians who drive across the border into the U.S. so they can take domestic flight to American destinations. All signs are bilingual in English and French, and workers are offered French classes. The airport has significant multi-modal capabilities, including its own interchange on the Interstate Highway System (Exit 36 of

I-87 Interstate 87 may refer to either of two unconnected Interstate Highways in the United States: * Interstate 87 (New York), a highway running from New York City north to the Canadian border in Champlain, New York. * Interstate 87 (North Carolina) ...

), a direct rail spur from the main

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...

line between

and New York City, and direct rail and highway access to the

Port of Montreal The Port of Montreal (french: Port de Montréal) ( ACI Canadian Port Code: 0395, UN/LOCODE: CA MTR) is a cruise and transshipment point located on the St. Lawrence River in Montreal, Québec, Canada. The port operates as an international contain ...

Facilities and aircraft

Plattsburgh International Airport covers an area of 1,912 acres (774 ha) at an elevation of 234 feet (71 m) above

mean sea level There are several kinds of mean in mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. ...

. It has one

runway According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt concrete, as ...

designated 17/35 with an asphalt/concrete surface measuring 11,759 by 200 feet (3,584 x 61 m). The airport has a 35,300 square foot passenger terminal building that opened in 2007. Before 2007 the airport's main structures were the old

Strategic Air Command Strategic Air Command (SAC) was both a United States Department of Defense Specified Command and a United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command responsible for command and control of the strategic bomber and intercontinental ballistic missile ...

alert facility (aka "Mole Hole") on the north end and the control tower and base operations building in the southeast end. The passenger facility has limited services beyond the airlines, along with a snack booth and food stand. Various former Air Force

hangar A hangar is a building or structure designed to hold aircraft or spacecraft. Hangars are built of metal, wood, or concrete. The word ''hangar'' comes from Middle French ''hanghart'' ("enclosure near a house"), of Germanic origin, from Frankish ...

s are located along the tarmac, with largest being 28,000 square feet. The air traffic control tower is located separately, but is currently not functional (i.e., the airport is currently an

uncontrolled airport In aviation, a non-towered airport is an airport without a control tower, or air traffic control (ATC) unit. The vast majority of the world's airports are non-towered. In the United States, there are close to 20,000 non-towered airports compared ...

, limited to

UNICOM A UNICOM (universal communications) station is an air-ground communication facility operated by a non-air traffic control private agency to provide advisory service at uncontrolled aerodromes and airports and to provide various non-flight services ...

only). Aircraft rescue and fire fighting is provided by the airport with a fire station utilizing the former USAF fire station adjacent to the old control tower. The department uses former military airport tenders and has a newer Rosenbauer Panther 6x6 (delivered in 2009). Plattsburgh Airport had about 140,000 passengers enplane annually. The

forecasts 300,000 passengers annually by 2030, in part because of Canadian use. For the 12-month period ending June 30, 2018, the airport had 12,781 aircraft operations, an average of 35 per day: 55%

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...

, 23%

air taxi An air taxi is a small commercial aircraft that makes short flights on demand. In 2001 air taxi operations were promoted in the United States by a NASA and aerospace industry study on the potential Small Aircraft Transportation System (SATS) an ...

, 21% scheduled commercial, and 2%

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

. At that time there were 30 aircraft based at this airport: 20 single-

engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power gen ...

, 7 multi-engine, 2 jet, and 1

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...

Airlines and destinations

Allegiant N220NV FLL 8x12 JTPI 496 (25388854584)

Passenger

Cargo

Statistics

Top destinations

Status and expansion

On September 5, 2007,

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

-based airline

Allegiant Air Allegiant Air (usually shortened to Allegiant) is an ultra low-cost U.S. carrier that operates scheduled and charter flights. It is a major air carrier, the fourteenth-largest commercial airline in North America. Allegiant was founded in 1 ...

announced that it would offer non-stop flights from Plattsburgh International Airport to

Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

Fort Lauderdale A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

, Florida aboard

McDonnell-Douglas MD-80 The McDonnell Douglas MD-80 is a series of five-abreast single-aisle airliners developed by McDonnell Douglas. It was produced by the developer company until August 1997 and then by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The MD-80 was the second gener ...

variants. The service began on November 16, 2007. The airline cited Plattsburgh as an ideal location due to its proximity to

and

Burlington, Vermont Burlington is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the seat of Chittenden County. It is located south of the Canada–United States border and south of Montreal. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 44,743. It ...

. Allegiant operates a similar situation with

Bellingham International Airport Bellingham International Airport is three miles (5 km) northwest of Bellingham, in Whatcom County, Washington, United States. BLI covers 2,190 acres (886 ha) of land, and is the third-largest commercial airport in Washington. Bellingham ...

Bellingham, Washington Bellingham ( ) is the most populous city in, and county seat of Whatcom County in the U.S. state of Washington. It lies south of the U.S.–Canada border in between two major cities of the Pacific Northwest: Vancouver, British Columbia (locat ...

, which is close to

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

. In response to their tremendous success within the region, Allegiant began non-stop service to

and Punta Gorda. Las Vegas service ended in March 2014. Airbus A319s &

A320 The Airbus A320 family is a series of narrow-body airliners developed and produced by Airbus. The A320 was launched in March 1984, first flew on 22 February 1987, and was introduced in April 1988 by Air France. The first member of the famil ...

s fly the bulk of Allegiant Air routes out of Plattsburgh. On March 15, 2008, the airport began hosting regular service by

Direct Air Southern Sky Air Tours, d/b/a Direct Air was an airline business based in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, United States. Direct Air started in 2007 and leased aircraft with charter airlines. Its main base was Myrtle Beach International Airport. Dire ...

, offering three direct flights weekly to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The charter airline already had a successful service to Myrtle Beach from Niagara Falls, which has drawn many passengers from Ontario just as Plattsburgh is now doing from Quebec. On April 29, 2011, the airline announced it would offer two non-stop flights per week, departing and returning on Wednesdays and Saturdays, to

Lakeland Linder International Airport Lakeland Linder International Airport is a public airport five miles southwest of Lakeland, in Polk County, Florida. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2017–2021 categorized it as a nati ...

beginning November 10, 2011 using

Boeing 737-400 The Boeing 737 Classic is a series of narrow-body airliners produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes, the second generation of the Boeing 737 series of aircraft. Development began in 1979 and the first variant, the 737-300, first flew in Februa ...

aircraft. The reason Direct had chosen Lakeland as its latest destination was its proximity to both Orlando and Tampa. Direct Air planned to make flights to and from San Juan, Puerto Rico, starting on May 2, 2012. On March 13, 2012, Direct Air ceased operations. The charter carrier was subject to Chapter 7

liquidation Liquidation is the process in accounting by which a company is brought to an end in Canada, United Kingdom, United States, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, and many other countries. The assets and property of the company are redistrib ...

on April 12, 2012. The airport was served by

Colgan Air Colgan Air was an American certificated regional airline subsidiary of Pinnacle Airlines Corp. The headquarters of Colgan Air were located in Memphis, Tennessee. Colgan Air operated for Continental Express/United Express, and US Airways Expre ...

until June 14, 2012, offering up to three flights daily to Boston on a variety of turboprop regional airliners. After Colgan Air went defunct, the relatively unknown Alaska-based airline

PenAir Peninsula Airways, operated as PenAir, was a U.S.-based regional airline headquartered in Anchorage, Alaska. It was Alaska's second-largest commuter airline operating scheduled passenger service, as well as charter and medevac services through ...

was chosen as its replacement when the airline decided to serve destinations in the northeast U.S. PenAir serves Plattsburgh similarly with two to three daily flights to

Boston Logan International Airport General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport , also known as Boston Logan International Airport and commonly as Boston Logan, Logan Airport or simply Logan, is an international airport that is located mostly in East Boston and partially ...

, exclusively using

Saab 340 The Saab 340 is a Swedish twin-engine turboprop aircraft designed and initially produced by Saab AB and Fairchild Aircraft. It is designed to seat 30-36 passengers and, as of July 2018, there were 240 operational aircraft used by 34 different o ...

aircraft. PenAir was selected as Colgan's replacement and offered to two daily flights to Boston, subsidized by the

program. The airport was also served by

Spirit Airlines Spirit Airlines Inc. (stylized as spirit) is a major ultra-low-cost U.S. carrier headquartered in Miramar, Florida, in the Miami metropolitan area. Spirit operates scheduled flights throughout the United States, the Caribbean and Latin Ameri ...

with non-stop service to Fort Lauderdale and seasonal non-stop flights to Myrtle Beach. Also, it was reported on January 13, 2012, via

WPTZ WPTZ (channel 5) is a television station licensed to Plattsburgh, New York, United States, serving as the NBC affiliate for the Burlington, Vermont–Plattsburgh, New York market. It is owned by Hearst Television alongside Montpelier, Vermont� ...

that the airport was planning on expanding by building a new two-story terminal with six additional jetways, along with expanded parking, ticket counters, baggage claims and security checkpoints which is estimated to cost more than $40 million. On September 18, 2012, the airport received more than $6.5 million in federal grants to use toward infrastructure improvements that should start early 2013. Champlain Enterprises successfully restored a vintage 1943

Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper version ...

aircraft, which made its first post-restoration flight on June 2, 2006. The aircraft was housed in the former Plattsburgh Air Force Base Auxiliary hangar on the south side of the airports tarmac. It made regular air show appearances throughout the northeast U.S. for the following years, flying out of both Plattsburgh and Morrisonville, before the aircraft was purchased by Basler Turbo Conversions on March 8, 2013; it is currently based at BTC headquarters in

Oshkosh, Wisconsin Oshkosh is a city in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, of which it is the county seat. The city had a population of 66,816 in 2020, making it the ninth-largest city in Wisconsin. It is also adjacent to the Town of Oshkosh. History Oshkosh was ...

Wittman Regional Airport Wittman Regional Airport is a county-owned public-use airport located two nautical miles (4 km) south of the central business district of Oshkosh, a city in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, United States. A large portion at the south en ...

. The airport underwent a $55 million expansion with a two-story departure terminal with three new gates, bringing the total number of gates to four, an expanded ticket counter, larger baggage claim, among other improvements which will help the airport keep up with its growth. As of writing, the expanded concourse has three gates with jetways and a fourth gate that can have one added with increased service. A new customs facility was due to be opened in 2019. On January 14, 2022 regional airlines SkyWest Air announced their intentions to cut subsidized service to Plattsburgh. Due to the sudden nature of the cancellations, a new bidding process began for a new airline On May 10, 2022 Contour Airlines was chosen as the replacement with 12 weekly flights to Philadelphia.

Tenants

Beside the airlines there are other tenants at the airport, including: * Avflight Plattsburgh (FBO) * Exelon Powerlabs *

FAA The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...

Hertz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that on ...

Car Rental * Lakeside Container Corp. * Laurentian Aerospace * Northeast Group * Precision Jet Management * PrimeLink * Railtech Composites * Smardt Chillers, Incorporated * Top Aces * Triangle Electrical Systems *

UPS UPS or ups may refer to: Companies and organizations * United Parcel Service, an American shipping company ** The UPS Store, UPS subsidiary ** UPS Airlines, UPS subsidiary * Underground Press Syndicate, later ''Alternative Press Syndicate'' or ...

Air Freight *

U.S. Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior or home ministries of other countries. Its stated missions involve anti-terr ...

Westinghouse Air Brake The Westinghouse Air Brake Company (sometimes nicknamed or abbreviated WABCO although this was also confusingly used for spinoffs) was founded on September 28, 1869 by George Westinghouse in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Earlier in the year he had i ...

* Wood Group

Notes

References

Construction of new Clinton County airport ready to take off
''Press-Republican''. July 13, 2005.

''Press-Republican''. May 30, 2007.

''Press-Republican''. December 19, 2007.

''The Montreal Gazette''. July 5, 2008.
Airport Committee endorses expansion conceptual plan
''Press-Republican''. December 29, 2011.

''WPTZ''. January 13, 2012. * Essential Air Service documents
Docket OST-2003-14783
from the

U.S. Department of Transportation The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT or DOT) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is headed by the secretary of transportation, who reports directly to the President of the United States and ...

: *
Order 2006-7-12 (July 10, 2006)
re-selecting Champlain Enterprises, Inc. d/b/a CommutAir, operating as Continental Connection, to provide subsidized essential air service (EAS) at Plattsburgh and Saranac Lake/Lake Placid, New York, at an annual subsidy rate of $1,706,755 for the two-year period of September 1, 2006, through August 31, 2008. *
Order 2007-9-13 (September 13, 2007)
selecting Big Sky Transportation Co., d/b/a Big Sky Airlines, operating as Delta Connection, to provide subsidized EAS at Plattsburgh and Saranac Lake/Lake Placid, New York, utilizing 19-seat Beech 1900-D aircraft, at an annual subsidy rate of $2,408,294. *
Order 2008-1-12 (January 16, 2008)
selecting Hyannis Air Service, Inc., d/b/a Cape Air, to provide essential air service (EAS) at Plattsburgh and Saranac Lake/Lake Placid, New York, for the two-year period beginning when the carrier starts full EAS at both communities. *
Order 2010-3-27 (March 22, 2010)
selecting Colgan Air, Inc., operating as US Airways Express, to provide subsidized essential air service (EAS) at Plattsburgh, New York, utilizing 34-seat

aircraft, for a two-year term beginning when the carrier inaugurates full service, at an annual subsidy rate of $2,117,101. *
Order 2012-3-2 (March 2, 2012)
selecting PenAir to provide EAS at Presque Isle and Plattsburgh using 34-passenger

aircraft. At Plattsburgh, PenAir will provide 12 weekly round trips for an annual subsidy of $2,685,207 for the first 6 months after full EAS commences and $2,470,834 annually for the 18 months thereafter.

External links

Plattsburgh International Airport
official site
Eagle Aviation Services
FBO
Aerial image as of May 1994
from

USGS The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, a ...

The National Map ''The National Map'' is a collaborative effort of the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and other federal, state, and local agencies to improve and deliver topographic information for the United States. The purpose of the effort is to prov ...

'' * at

New York State DOT The New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) is the department of the New York state government responsible for the development and operation of highways, railroads, mass transit systems, ports, waterways and aviation facilities in t ...

website * * {{authority control Airports in New York (state) Transportation buildings and structures in Clinton County, New York Essential Air Service Foreign trade zones of the United States 2006 establishments in New York (state)