Fees suspended at suburban N.Y. airport

New York -- The New York area's airport operator approved a $1 million incentive to preserve and expand air service at suburban Stewart International Airport Thursday.

The six-month incentive -- eliminating fees starting Sept. 1 that airlines normally pay to land, park and use terminal facilities -- is intended to counterbalance "the current business climate in the aviation industry, and particularly at Stewart, where several airlines have announced service cuts in 2008," the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said in a statement.

AirTran Airways said it would leave Stewart in September as part of a
nationwide capacity cutback, despite a rosy July performance. JetBlue Airways and Delta Air Lines said they would reduce Stewart service starting next month.

The Port Authority, which took over Stewart in 2007, sees the underused airport in Newburgh, N.Y., 60 miles north of New York City, as key to expanding the region's aviation capacity and reducing delays at Newark Liberty, Kennedy and LaGuardia airports.

The bi-state agency -- which agreed to spend $500 million on airport improvements over 10 years -- estimated 725,000 travelers would use Stewart this year, down from about 915,000 in 2007.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International.