Long Island MacArthur Airport - History

History

In April 1942, four months after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, which precipitated the entrance of the United States into World War II, the Town of Islip entered into contract with the federal government to build an airfield on Town-owned land for potential military purposes during the war. Within months, the Civil Aeronautics Administration – predecessor to today's Federal Aviation Administration – funded construction of three paved runways. Originally named Islip Airport, at the suggestion of Charles H. Duryea, a local elected official, the airport was renamed MacArthur Airport, after General Douglas MacArthur, General of the Army.

In 1944, Lockheed Aircraft Corporation built the first hangar at the airport. Five years later, the Town built the airport's first terminal building preparing the way for commercial service. Throughout the 1950s, the Sperry Corporation conducted aerospace research at the airport.

In 1960, Allegheny Airlines (AL) was the first commercial airline to offer scheduled flights from the field to Boston, Philadelphia and Washington. The March 1961 Official Airline Guide shows five weekday Convair departures: a nonstop to Washington National, one to Baltimore, and three flights making two or three stops to Boston. The General Douglas MacArthur Terminal was completed in 1966; in 1967 Mohawk started two FH227 flights a day to Bridgeport and Albany and beyond (one continued to Toronto). A few years later American Airlines began non-stop flights to Chicago.

In the 50 years since Long Island MacArthur Airport introduced scheduled air service the airport has become a major transportation hub and economic engine of the region. Although several airlines have discontinued service over the years, during the decade between 1999 and 2009 passenger traffic grew with the airport now serving about two million passengers a year on its two commercial carriers: Southwest Airlines and US Airways Express.

Continental Express and Continental Connection offered non-stop flights to Albany and to Cleveland, but discontinued service in 2005. Spirit Airlines had scheduled service to several Florida cities and Detroit, before they moved their New York business to LaGuardia Airport in 2001; in May 2008 the airline resumed service to Fort Lauderdale from MacArthur only to discontinue it shortly thereafter. Delta Express, which offered non-stop flights to Orlando and Fort Lauderdale, discontinued service at MacArthur Airport in 2003, after experiencing a decline in passenger traffic. Delta Connection to and from Atlanta ended on May 1, 2008 following a mid-April announcement that Delta and Northwest Airlines were planning to merge – a move that led to significant operational changes for the merged airline.

As of June 2012, Southwest Airlines offers non-stop service to several Florida cities: Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Orlando, Tampa, and West Palm Beach. It also offers service to its focus city in Baltimore, which offers connections throughout the entire Southwest system. The only legacy carrier service at the airport is US Airways Express to Philadelphia and Washington-Reagan. The latter service began on March 25, 2012.