Islip MacArthur Airport Gets a New Tenant

A third airline is moving into one of New York’s almost-forgotten airports.  
 
National Airlines announced last week that it will be flying daily between Islip (ISP) and Puerto Rico. Starting in July, National will fly from Islip to Puerto Rico’s two most popular airports—Rafael Hernández Airport (BQN) in Aguadilla and Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport (SJU) in San Juan.  
 
“The City of Islip is a wonderful and engaging community, and Long Island MacArthur Airport offers both outstanding service and convenience for our customers. National Airlines believes there is demand for our unique brand of exclusive service at inclusive fares between Islip, San Juan and Aguadilla,” Edward Davidson, National’s president and COO, told TMR.  
 
National Airlines is an Orlando-based carrier with a fleet of only six aircraft as of November 2015. With the addition of Islip, it serves just six North American destinations besides Orlando—San Juan and Aguadilla, Puerto Rico; Islip, New York; Windsor, Ontario; and, St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador. 
 
Its new Islip-to-San-Juan routes will leave Islip at 9 a.m. on Sunday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday and return from San Juan at 2:30 p.m. Its Islip Aguadilla routes will operate at the same times, leaving Islip at 9 a.m. and returning at 2:30 p.m., on Monday and Friday each week.  
 
A little history  
A 2001 NY Times article lauded MacArthur as an airport with significant advantages over the other closest New York domestic airport—LaGuardia—because of its lack of delays and location outside of New York City restrictions.  

“The Islip airport is looking better and better to business and pleasure travelers willing to settle for fewer direct flights and remoteness from Manhattan in exchange for delay-free, minimum-hassle departures and landings at MacArthur, which is 42 miles east of La Guardia,” the article said.  
 
But times have changed in Suffolk County.  
 
Islip has always been a small airport, but its number of departures has decreased steadily in the past 10 years—to a low of 602,000 in 2015—as Southwest acquired more gates at LaGuardia and moved more flights there, and as travelers came to understand that “just 42 miles” can be a very long way in rush-hour traffic. 
 
At the moment, the only airlines to operate daily, direct flights from Islip are Southwest, which flies to Baltimore, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Tampa, and West Palm Beach, and American Airlines’ regional branch American Eagle, which flies to Philadelphia.  
 
The new National route provides some optimism for the airport’s future. It comes as the Town of Islip is in talks to add a customs facility, which would make international flights possible.

Pic: Americasroof