Westchester County Airport - Local Context

Local Context

After several renovations, as well as discussions about the airport's viability, 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, 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 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.

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.

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, 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.

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.