Stewart Airport Commission Updates on Airport Usage

NEW WINDSOR – On Tuesday, July 25, the Stewart Airport Commission held a meeting, which is held once every two months. The meeting only had one agenda item, which was to check in on the Airport Activities Report of April and May.

“It talks about passenger traffic, it talks about cargo traffic, general aviation traffic and then we get updates on any sort of potential airlines that are interested in the airport,” said commission chairman Paul Quartararo on Tuesday.

Port Authority of New York and New Jersey owns Stewart Airport.

The report is measured by year over year % (YOY) change. According to Investopedia, this is a “frequently used financial comparison for looking at two or more measurable events on an annual basis. Observing YOY performance allows for gauging if a company’s financial performance is improving, static or worsening.”

According to the Port Authority website, April 2023 had a total flight YOY decrease of 8.3% from last year. However, May 2023 had a total flight YOY increase of 112.7% from last year.
The report also documented the flights that exclude general aviation, otherwise known as Excl GA.

“Within this classification are air taxi, business, private, government, and helicopter flights,” said Frank Telleri, the Senior Business Intelligence Analyst at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Excl GA at Stewart Airport has trended upward in the past two months, with a 17.6% increase in the month of April and a 9.1% increase in the month of May.

The YOY of revenue passengers increased by 13.8% in April but decreased by 5.7% in May. This is the first time in the past year that revenue passenger YOY change decreased.

The report documented the YOY change in cargo by short ton (a measurement of 2,000lbs.) The YOY change decreased in April by 3.4%. However, in May, it increased by 15.4%.YOY short ton cargo has generally decreased over the past year.

Telleri was not immediately available to comment on the trends of the Airport Activities Report.