| Westchester County Airport | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| IATA: HPN – ICAO: KHPN – FAA LID: HPN | |||
| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Public-use | ||
| Owner | County of Westchester | ||
| Operator | AFCO AvPORTS | ||
| Serves | Westchester County, New York | ||
| Location | White Plains, New York | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 439 ft / 134 m | ||
| Coordinates | |||
| Website | |||
| Map | |||
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HPN
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| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 11/29 | 4,451 | 1,357 | Asphalt |
| 16/34 | 6,548 | 1,996 | Asphalt |
| Statistics (2010) | |||
| Aircraft operations | 191,017 | ||
| Based aircraft | 310 | ||
| Source: FAA[1] and official airport website[2] | |||
Westchester County Airport (IATA: HPN, ICAO: KHPN, FAA LID: HPN) is a county-owned public-use airport in Westchester County, New York, United States.[1] It is located three nautical miles (6 km) northeast of the central business district of White Plains,[1] in the towns of Harrison, North Castle and Rye Brook.
It serves the areas of Westchester, a northern suburb of New York City, as well as Fairfield County, Connecticut, as the New York-Connecticut state border coincides with the airport's eastern limits. It also serves the New York metropolitan area, as it is about 33 miles (53 km) north of Midtown Manhattan. It is often used by those who wish to avoid the congestion of the other New York City-area airports.
The Westchester County Airport currently has seven commercial airlines flying to fifteen destinations around the United States, with an additional destination to the Caribbean beginning November 15, 2011.[3]
This airport is included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, which categorized it as a primary commercial service airport.[4] As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 904,482 passenger boardings (enplanements) in calendar year 2008,[5] 964,927 enplanements in 2009, and 999,831 in 2010.[6]
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Westchester County Airport was built during World War II in 1942 as a home to an Air National Guard unit to protect New York City and Rye Lake, part of the city's water supply system. In May 1983, with the quick growth of the suburban area in Westchester, the Guard unit was moved to Stewart International Airport further to the north near Newburgh.
The first scheduled airline flights were American Airlines in late 1949; they had one weekday morning flight La Guardia to HPN to Syracuse and beyond, returning in the evening. Mohawk replaced American in 1955, it and successor Allegheny Airlines serving HPN until 1979. (The first scheduled jet flight was a Mohawk BAC 1-11 in 1965.) Before the passing of the Airline Deregulation Act the airport was served by several regional airlines, including Allegheny, Command Airways and Empire Airlines. Air Florida arrived in 1980 and United Airlines in 1983-84. On January 5, 2006, the airport was the point of departure for the last flight of Independence Air; a flight to Washington, D.C. at 7:26 pm.[7]
The airport is presently served by seven commercial airlines. Besides Independence Air, Continental Airlines used to serve the airport, with non-stop service to Cleveland on Continental Connection.
This airport has become a focus for low-cost carriers AirTran and JetBlue, for their Northeast to Southeast markets. They are looking to continue to add new service and add connections throughout their route networks.
AirTran began service at the airport in 2006. The airline initially operated Atlanta, Orlando and West Palm Beach. It later expanded with flights to Ft. Lauderdale, Ft. Myers and Tampa. They later cut back the 3 expanded routes and went back to just Atlanta, Orlando and West Palm Beach. AirTran continues to operate these routes today.
JetBlue began service at the airport in 2007. Today, JetBlue is the airport's largest air carrier. It operates 12 daily round trips to five destinations: Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Orlando, Tampa, and West Palm Beach. Beginning November 15, 2011, JetBlue will fly nonstop between HPN and Nassau, Bahamas (NAS), using their Embraer 190 aircraft. Customers use this airport as an alternative to the busy John F. Kennedy, LaGuardia, and Newark Liberty airports.
In June 2009 Cape Air became the most recent airline to serve Westchester County Airport, with service to Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts. Cape Air introduced service to Lebanon Municipal Airport in New Hampshire during early 2010. All Cape Air flights depart and arrive from the Signature Flight Support facility located south of the Main Terminal due to a lack of ticket counter space in the main terminal building.
JetBlue began a daily flight from HPN to Nassau, Bahamas on November 15, 2011. The flight is operated on regional jet, Embraer 190 and is the only scheduled International flight from the airport.
Flights to/from White Plains are extremely limited, and many end up full. The airport limits the number of passengers who may pass through the main terminal building per half hour to 240. Also, only four gates may be used at one time because only four aircraft may be scheduled to use the Terminal Ramp at any time. In 2010, AirTran Airways, United Express, and US Airways Express asked for approval for new routes, and all were rejected.
Through Southwest Airlines aqqusition of AirTran Airways, Southwest will be entering the White Plains Airport once a single operating certificate is awarded. This will create competition with rival JetBlue, who has been the primary carrier at HPN since late 2007. As Southwest is looking to improve its presence in the New York market, they could use HPN as a secondary airport from the busier New York City airports.
In June 2010, Air Canada announced that it would be dropping service at the airport. This ended all international service at the airport until November 2011 when JetBlue Airways begins service to Nassau, Bahamas.
On November 18, 2010, American Airlines ended its service to Chicago-O'Hare on American Eagle. Instead, they began using AmericanConnection, operated by Chautauqua Airlines, using its ERJ-140 aircraft. Service to Chicago is the airport's fourth busiest route. United Airlines operates the route as well, using both Embraer 170 and Canadair Regional Jets.
After several renovations, as well as discussions about the airport's viability,[8] the airport is presently served by seven airlines to a range of fifteen destinations in the United States. Although there has always been some controversy about the airport and proposed expansions,[9] more concerns have occurred recently as a result of passengers seeking relief from the long delays at the other New York airports. The most recent concerns have to do with flight paths[10] and traffic congestion; the latter has been addressed by the County of Westchester with Bee-Line bus service to the airport and the encouragement of travelers to get rides to the airport.[11]
The Westchester County Airport is fully committed to achieving excellence in environmental protection by integrating environmental values into all airport activities. This is accomplished through the AEMS, an ISO 14001 certified Airport Environmental Management System through which the airport’s environmental performance is monitored; airport-wide environmental management practices are continually improved; and employees receive environmental training. The Westchester County Airport was, in 2004, the third airport in the U.S. to achieve this level of environmental performance.[12]
Also, due to its location near a number of residential neighborhoods, Westchester County Airport instituted a Voluntary Restraint from Flying Program, sometimes referred to as a voluntary curfew,[13] which has helped to ease some of the local concern of noise resulting from airport activity. In an effort to alleviate concerns over expansion and noise, planning studies are done on a regular basis.[14]
In May 2011, NYSDOT released the "New York Statewide Airport Economic Impact Study," quantifying the level of economic activity that was attributable to the aviation sector for the year 2009 in the State of New York. The study noted that HPN was one of only three airports in the state that gained emplanements, performing better than the U.S. benchmark. The study also noted that the total economic impact of the airport was approximately $736 million.[15]
The IATA code for Westchester County Airport is HPN. There is a small debate in the origins of this code. Many believe that it is derived from the name of the city, White Plains (IATA codes normally do not begin with W because those are reserved for radio signals). Others, however, believe that the IATA code represents the first letter of the three neighboring communities, Harrison, Purchase, and North Castle.[16] The full ICAO code for Westchester County Airport is KHPN.
Westchester County Airport covers an area of 702 acres (284 ha) at an elevation of 439 feet (134 m) above mean sea level. It has two asphalt paved runways: 16/34 is 6,548 by 150 feet (1,996 x 46 m) and 11/29 is 4,451 by 150 feet (1,357 x 46 m).[1] Runway 29's threshold is displaced 1,297 feet (395 m) due to trees obstructing the approach path. The trees (in Connecticut) are 37 ft (11 m) tall and 370 ft (113 m) from the end of the runway.[17]
The runways can handle planes such as AirTran's Boeing 717 and Boeing 737 and JetBlue's Airbus A320 aircraft, though the county no longer allows airlines to operate aircraft the size of JetBlue's Airbus A320 and larger.[18]
Westchester County Airport has several fixed-base operators (FBOs), including Avitat, Signature Flight Support, Landmark, NetJets, Panorama, and Million Air. Although varied in services offered, the FBOs at Westchester County Airport provide Jet A and 100LL fueling services, repairs and maintenance, aircraft tiedowns, de-icing, United States Customs, and other aircraft services. Some of the FBOs are particularly luxurious, providing limousine transportation services and deluxe surroundings.
There are two nationally-recognized flight schools at the Westchester County Airport. Performance Flight operates out of the Million Air at Hangar M, while Panorama Flight School operates out of the Panorama Flight Services at Hangar T. Additionally, the Westchester Flying Club, a private organization of pilots, is based at the airport as well as the Westchester Aviation Association, a not-for-profit organization which promotes aviation education and understanding on the part of government authorities and the public.
Westchester County Airport is also the current home of the New York Wing of the United States Civil Air Patrol, as well as the Southeastern Group of the New York Wing. Both are housed in the same building as the Airport Precinct of the Westchester County Police. These facilities were partially remodeled to accommodate the recent arrival of the New York Wing.
For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2010, the airport had 191,017 total aircraft operations, an average of 523 per day: 23% commercial aviation, 48% heavy general aviation, and 29% light general aviation. In 2010 there were 310 based- aircraft out of this airport.[19]
Westchester County Airport has one relatively small three-level terminal with six gate spaces (A,B,C,F,G,H), of which only four may be used because only four aircraft may be scheduled to use the Terminal Ramp at any time. Gates C and F are the only gates that have jetways. Generally AirTran Airways, JetBlue and occasionally United Express use these gates, because they use larger planes, such as the Boeing 717, Embraer 190 and the Embraer 170. The other airlines' smaller regional jets and propeller planes can also reach the jetways but requires an additional small ramp assist. Depending on gate occupancy, ramp supervisors may call any aircraft (despite size) to a gate without a jetway. This sometimes requires passengers to deplane and board onto the tarmac via airstairs. The airlines have specific time slots regarding arrivals so the jetways are usually reserved for the larger jets (JetBlue, AirTran and Delta Connection). The terminal also has one luggage carousel, one baggage reclaim office and two Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screening lanes. When not assigned to the jetbridge-equipped gates, JetBlue avoids delays by using stairs and ramps to board the aircraft from the front and back simultaneously. The stairs are occasionally used by other airlines as well as the winding ramp known as the 'water slide'. On the second level of the terminal there is a coffee shop, a bar and a restaurant with taxiway and runway views. On the third floor there is an outside observation deck allowing passengers to view aircraft on the runways and taxiways. An ATM is located on the second floor of the terminal and there is a small convenience shop on the first floor. The coffee shop, bar and restaurant are all located outside of the TSA checkpoint. There is, however, a small snack stand located within the TSA secured departure lounge.
Over the years the Westchester County Airport has had an increase in passenger enplanements per year. However, there is presently a constraint on the number of incoming and outgoing commercial passengers out of the main terminal building at the airport to 240 passengers per half hour.[20] Due to the county's limits, airlines would have to make arrangements to ensure compliance with this passenger cap. There are no plans to expand the terminal at this time. Cape Air, the airport's newest airline, was located out of the main terminal due to lack of counter space in the main terminal building. The counter is currently dominated by JetBlue, taking up most of the space.
The following airlines offer scheduled passenger service at this airport:
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| AirTran Airways | Atlanta, Orlando, West Palm Beach |
| American Connection operated by Chautauqua Airlines | Chicago-O'Hare |
| Cape Air | Lebanon-Hanover Seasonal: Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket |
| Delta Connection operated by ExpressJet | Atlanta |
| Delta Connection operated by Mesaba Airlines | Detroit |
| Delta Connection operated by Pinnacle Airlines | Atlanta, Detroit |
| JetBlue Airways | Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Nassau, Orlando, Tampa, West Palm Beach |
| United Express operated by Colgan Air | Washington-Dulles |
| United Express operated by Shuttle America | Chicago-O'Hare |
| United Express operated by SkyWest Airlines | Chicago-O'Hare |
| US Airways Express operated by Air Wisconsin | Charlotte, Philadelphia, Washington-National |
| US Airways Express operated by Piedmont Airlines | Philadelphia, Washington-National |
| US Airways Express operated by PSA Airlines | Charlotte, Philadelphia, Washington-National |
| Carrier | Passengers (arriving and departing) |
|---|---|
| JetBlue |
788,000(40.38%)
|
| AirTran |
312,000(16.00%)
|
| Atlantic Southeast |
152,000(7.77%)
|
| Pinnacle |
108,000(5.14%)
|
| Mesaba |
100,000(5.52%)
|
| Other |
492,000(25.20%)
|
| Rank | City | Airport | Passengers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Atlanta, Georgia | ATL | 197,000 |
| 2 | Orlando, Florida | MCO | 167,000 |
| 3 | West Palm Beach, Florida | PBI | 143,000 |
| 4 | Chicago, Illinois | ORD | 109,000 |
| 5 | Fort Lauderdale, Florida | FLL | 90,000 |
| 6 | Detroit, Michigan | DTW | 58,000 |
| 7 | Fort Myers, Florida | RSW | 54,000 |
| 8 | Arlington, Virginia / Washington, D.C. | DCA | 39,000 |
| 9 | Charlotte, North Carolina | CLT | 37,000 |
| 10 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | PHL | 31,000 |
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