Westchester County Airport

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, Fairfield County, Connecticut
Location White Plains, New York
Hub for Tradewind Aviation
Elevation AMSL 439 ft / 134 m
Coordinates 41°04′01″N 073°42′27″W / 41.06694°N 73.70750°WCoordinates: 41°04′01″N 073°42′27″W / 41.06694°N 73.70750°W
Website airport.WestchesterGov.com
Map
HPN

Location of airport in New York

Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
11/29 4,451 1,357 Asphalt
16/34 6,549 1,996 Asphalt
Statistics (2011)
Aircraft operations 197,037 (UP 3%)
Based aircraft 310
Passengers (2013) 1,541,100
Source: FAA[1] and official airport website[2]

Westchester County Airport (IATA: HPN, ICAO: KHPN, FAA LID: HPN) is a county-owned airport in Westchester County, New York,[1] three miles (6 km) northeast of the central business district of White Plains,[1] in the towns of Harrison, North Castle and Rye.

It serves suburban Westchester County, New York and Fairfield County, Connecticut (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.

The Westchester County Airport has six commercial airlines and their regional affiliates flying to sixteen destinations around the United States.

This airport is included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, which categorized it as a primary commercial service airport.[3] As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 904,482 passenger boardings (enplanements) in calendar year 2008,[4] 964,927 enplanements in 2009, and 999,831 in 2010.[5]

History

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 growth of suburban Westchester, the Guard unit abandoned Westchester Air National Guard Base and moved to Stewart International Airport 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.[6]

The airport is served by six airlines. Former airlines include Independence Air, Continental Airlines, Air Canada, Boston-Maine Airways (as Pan Am Clipper Connection) and AirTran Airways. AirTran began service at the airport in 2006 with flights to Atlanta, Orlando and West Palm Beach. This ended on August 11, 2012.

JetBlue began service at the airport in 2007 and is now the airport's largest carrier with 11 daily round trips to six destinations.

In June 2009 Cape Air added service to Westchester, with service to Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts. Cape Air introduced service to Lebanon Municipal Airport in New Hampshire in early 2010. All Cape Air flights depart and arrive from the Signature Flight Support facility south of the Main Terminal due to a lack of ticket counter space in the main terminal building.

In June 2010 Air Canada announced it would be dropping service at the airport. This ended international flights at the airport until service to the Bahamas started in 2011.

On November 18, 2010 American Airlines switched service to the airport from American Eagle to AmericanConnection, operated by Chautauqua Airlines, using its smaller ERJ-140 aircraft. Later, the AmericanConnection name was dropped and it returned to American Eagle.

In 2013, Delta Air Lines announced that it would start seasonal service to Orlando starting in December.

Noise abatement procedures

HPN is nestled between many existing neighborhoods and has many rules that must be followed. HPN officials started the Westchester County Airport Aircraft Noise study which set up Airport Noise and Operations Monitoring Systems (ANOMS) around the airport. The ANOMS measure the sound in the surveying area and compare it to the sound of airplanes and the sound of the neighborhoods surrounding the airport. With the help of these devices, HPN officials have located the problems where noise is affecting the area the most.

HPN has implemented six programs that help reduce noise. The first program as stated earlier is the Voluntary Restraint from Flying or VRFF. The VRFF is a curfew for planes to encourage them not to fly during the hours of midnight to six in the morning. Another program is High Range Noise Event Program which uses the ANOMS. If an ANOMS pick up reading of higher than 90 decibels that airplane is then contacted by HPN officials. HPN also has programs that do not allow airplane larger than 12,500 pounds to takeoff at the runway intersections, or run-up their engines without prior approval of airport operations.

Local context

After several renovations, as well as discussions about the airport's viability,[7] the airport is 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,[8] more concerns have arisen 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[9] 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.[10]

The airport's environmental management practices are monitored through the AEMS, an ISO 14001 certified Airport Environmental Management System; airport employees receive environmental training. The facility was, in 2004, the third airport in the U.S. to achieve this level of environmental performance.[11]

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,[12] 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.[13]

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.[14]

IATA code

The IATA code for Westchester County Airport is HPN. There is a 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 believe the IATA code represents the first letter of the three neighboring communities, Harrison, Purchase, and North Castle.[15] The full ICAO code for Westchester County Airport is KHPN.

Facilities and aircraft

Westchester County Airport covers 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 6,549 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.[16]

Westchester County Airport has several fixed-base operators (FBOs), including Signature Flight Support East and West, Landmark East and West, NetJets, 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 three flight schools. Performance Flight operates out of the Million Air at Hangar M, while Academy of Aviation operates out of Landmark West at Hangar T. Wings Air offers helicopter flight training out of Hangar C-2. 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 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.

Aircraft Rescue Fire Fighting (ARFF) is provided by Airport Operations Crews. The airport owns three ARFF apparatus (three Oshkosh Striker 1500s), two of which are in service full-time. The ARFF Crews only respond to aircraft emergencies. All structure related fire and rescue calls go to the local fire departments. For example, the Purchase Fire Department handles all structure calls on the southern part of the airfield, the Armonk Fire Department handles calls on the northern part and the Rye Brook/Port Chester Fire Department handle all calls on the east end, including the main terminal. EMS calls are handled by Port Chester-Rye-Rye Brook EMS, Harrison EMS and Armonk Fire/EMS depending on location of call.

In 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.[17]

Terminal

The gate area in the main terminal

Westchester County Airport has one small three-level terminal with six gate spaces, of which only four may be used because only four aircraft may be scheduled to use the Terminal Ramp at any time. The $35 million terminal was built in 1995 and designed by Lothrop Associates.[18] Gates C and F are the only gates that have jetways. The terminal also has one luggage carousel, one baggage reclaim office and two Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screening lanes. JetBlue avoids delays by using stairs when jetways are not available.

Airlines and destinations

The following airlines offer scheduled passenger service:[19]

Airlines Destinations
American Eagle Chicago-O'Hare
Cape Air Lebanon-Hanover, Provincetown
Seasonal: Hyannis, Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket
Delta Connection Atlanta, Detroit
Seasonal: Orlando
JetBlue Airways Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Orlando, Tampa, West Palm Beach
United Express Chicago-O'Hare
US Airways Express Charlotte, Philadelphia, Washington-National

Scheduled charter service

Airlines Destinations
Reliant Air Nantucket[20]
Tradewind Aviation Seasonal: Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket

Statistics

Carrier Shares for July 2013 - June 2014[21]
Carrier Passengers (arriving and departing)
JetBlue
700,000(48.86%)
ExpressJet
297,000(20.71%)
Air Wisconsin
110,000(7.67%)
Chautauqua
96,520(6.74%)
Piedmont
73,770(5.15%)
Other
156,000(10.86%)
Busiest Domestic Routes from HPN
(July 2013 - June 2014)[21]
Rank City Passengers Carriers
1 Orlando, FL 119,000 Delta, JetBlue
2 Atlanta, GA 115,000 Delta
3 West Palm Beach, FL 106,000 JetBlue
4 Chicago, IL (ORD) 82,000 American, United
5 Fort Lauderdale, FL 66,000 JetBlue
6 Philadelphia, PA 43,000 US Airways
7 Washington, DC (DCA) 41,000 US Airways
8 Charlotte, NC 39,000 US Airways
9 Detroit, MI 37,000 Delta
10 Tampa, FL 33,000 JetBlue

In popular culture

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 FAA Airport Master Record for HPN (Form 5010 PDF). Federal Aviation Administration. Effective August 25, 2011.
  2. ↑ Westchester County Airport
  3. ↑ "2011–2015 NPIAS Report, Appendix A" (PDF, 2.03 MB). National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems. Federal Aviation Administration. October 4, 2010.
  4. ↑ "Enplanements for CY 2008" (PDF, 1.0 MB). CY 2008 Passenger Boarding and All-Cargo Data. Federal Aviation Administration. December 18, 2009.
  5. ↑ "Enplanements for CY 2010" (PDF, 189 KB). CY 2010 Passenger Boarding and All-Cargo Data. Federal Aviation Administration. October 4, 2011.
  6. ↑ "Last Run for Independence Air". msnbc.com. 2006-01-05. Retrieved 2008-02-20.
  7. ↑ Foderaro, Lisa (1989-12-07). "The Talk of Westchester County Airport; Airport Plan: A Travelers' Oasis or a Threat to Neighbors?". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-01-15.
  8. ↑ Dzikowski, Don (September 1990). "Opponents Assail Airport Terminal Expansion Plans (Westchester County Airport)". Westchester County Business Journal.
  9. ↑ Vigdor, Neil (2008-01-08). "Town Rethinks FAA Lawsuit". Greenwich Time. Retrieved 2008-01-15.
  10. ↑ "Holiday Travelers Urged to Get Rides to the County Airport". Archived from the original on 2007-10-26. Retrieved 2007-11-09.
  11. ↑ "Environmental Management System - ISO 14001 Certified". Airport.westchestergov.com. 2012-04-10. Retrieved 2012-06-15.
  12. ↑ Government, Westchester County. "It's Not Just an Airport, it's a Neighborhood" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-10-12. Retrieved 2008-01-15.
  13. ↑ Harris Miller Miller & Hanson, Inc., TAMS Consultants, Inc. (2002-08). "Westchester County Airport Aircraft Noise Study" (PDF). Retrieved 2008-01-15. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  14. ↑ https://www.dot.ny.gov/divisions/operating/opdm/aviation/benefits
  15. ↑ "Westchester County Airport's Call Letters Dispute".
  16. ↑ "COUNTY OF WESTCHESTER v. TOWN OF GREENWICH CONNECTICUT II". United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit. FindLaw. Retrieved October 15, 2008.
  17. ↑ "About Us". Airport.westchestergov.com. 2012-05-22. Retrieved 2012-06-15.
  18. ↑ Lothrop Associates: Westchester County Airport Major Modernziation and Expansion
  19. ↑ Airline information, accessed March 3, 2014
  20. ↑ http://reliantair.com/Pages/NantucketShuttle.php "Danbury to Nantucket"
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 http://www.transtats.bts.gov/airports.asp?pn=1&Airport=HPN&Airport_Name=White%20Plains,%20NY:%20Westchester%20County&carrier=FACTS
  22. ↑ Trivia for Meet the Parents, IMDb.com
  23. ↑ Movies Made in Westchester County
  24. ↑ SpaceCamp film script
  25. ↑ West Wing transcript

External links

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