New York Stewart International Airport welcomed the first flight by its new domestic airline partner, Breeze Airways, on Feb. 15.
A low-fare airline favoring smaller airports, Breeze plans to run twice-weekly, round-trip flights between New Windsor-based Stewart Airport and two destinations: Orlando, Florida, and Charleston, South Carolina.
The services could boost the airport’s domestic traffic, which took a hit last July when Frontier Airlines terminated all flights out of it.
“This is a big momentous occasion,” Stewart International Airport General Manager Omar Astacio said at a ribbon-cutting ceremony welcoming the airline. “It is time to introduce new services and additional locations to revitalize this airport and revitalize the region.”
“Today is the first day we can say, literally and figuratively, flying out of New York Stewart is a ‘breeze,’” said Michael Wojnar, special counselor to Port Authority Executive Director Rick Cotton.
“There is no better word to describe the passenger experience at Stewart—it is calm, it is inexpensive, and it is a great alternative to the big city.”
Orlando couple Mario and Fany Cantillo were on board the inaugural Stewart-bound Breeze flight to visit their son in Putnam County and liked their experiences at the airport.
“It is less crowded—the baggage claim is so fast—and it is easier for our son to pick us up, too,” Mr. Mario told The Epoch Times, noting that the airport would be their top choice going forward.
Barbara Scott, a Newburgh resident, booked a Breeze flight to Orlando with her two grandchildren.
“This is our first trip to Disney,” Ms. Scott told The Epoch Times at the Stewart Airport. “And I like it that we don’t have to go down to Newark or LaGuardia—I hate that part of the trip.”
Orange County Deputy Executive Harold Porr recalled at the ceremony the history of the airport, which was once envisioned as a major commercial air traffic hub comparable to Newark or LaGuardia, and the decades-long advocacy to develop it to its full potential.
“It has been a long journey, and it has involved many, many people,” he said. “The airport has incrementally moved from an Air Force base in 1969 to where we are today, which has all the necessary parts needed to make this a full-blown commercial airport; it is happening.”
The airport’s journey hasn’t been smooth, though, and one of its biggest setbacks was losing the international airline Norwegian in 2019, partly due to the grounding of a certain Boeing aircraft.
Since then, Stewart has picked up two new international service partners—PLAY and Atlantic Airways—with increasing traffic, but its volume still falls far below the Norwegian heydays.
The airport will likely add another one or two international carriers this year, according to a Port Authority representative at a September 2023 Stewart Airport Commission meeting.
On the domestic side, aside from the newly added Breeze Airways, Allegiant Air also operates direct services to four destinations in Florida and South Carolina out of Stewart Airport.
Orange County’s core economic development team—including Orange County Partnership President Maureen Halahan, Chamber of Commerce President Heather Bell-Meyer, Tourism Department Director Amanda Dana, and Economic Development Department Director Steve Gross—told The Epoch Times that a successful Stewart Airport will benefit the county and the entire Hudson Valley region.
Breeze Airways airport training manager Alex Zois, Assemblyman Anil Beephan, Assemblyman Chris Eachus, Town of New Windsor Supervisor Stephen Bedetti, and Town of Newburgh Deputy Supervisor Scott Manley were also at the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
