Ithaca Tompkins Regional Airport - History

History

The original Ithaca Municipal Airport was located west of downtown Ithaca, near the inlet of Cayuga Lake. Its single short runway, proximity to the Lehigh Valley freight yards on the south side, the Cayuga Lake marshes on the north side, and fog in the lake valley posed serious limits to growth, however. Cornell University opened the existing airport on East Hill in 1948 and transferred its ownership to the County in 1956. The former airport site is now Cass Park, including a hangar which was renovated in 1975 to house the Hangar Theatre.

The original airport was the base where aviation pioneer Cecil Robinson began flying aerial photography missions. In 1945 shortly after the end of World War II, he created Robinson Airlines, basing its maintenance operations at the airport. The airline changed its name to Mohawk Airlines in 1952 and merged with Allegheny Airlines in 1972. Later the airport was also served by Empire Airlines and Air North, the of latter which became Brockway Air, which was merged into Piedmont Airlines. Allegheny, Piedmont, and Empire were all eventually merged into US Airways.

Other carriers that served the airport include Commuter Airlines, Mall Airways, Command Airways (later dba American Eagle), TW Express (also dba United Express), and Continental Express.

In 1994 the runway was extended from 5,801 feet (1,768 m) in length to its present 6,601 feet (2,012 m) and an entirely new, 33,000 square foot (3,000 m²) terminal building opened, replacing the cramped, aging original building. The airport received its current name on March 20, 2001. The northwest-facing runway 32 is equipped with an instrument landing system approach and an associated medium intensity approach light system with runway alignment lights. Runway 14, facing southeast, has an instrument approach based on the VOR/DME located at the airport. A short turf runway was commissioned parallel to the paved runway, but during the 1980s another turf runway oriented north-south was available to the west of the terminal building and was approximately 1,802 feet (549 m) long and 100 feet (30 m) wide.

Commercial traffic peaked in 1990 at 226,813 passengers, but by the end of the decade the small size of the market, relative proximity to Syracuse Hancock International Airport and other regional airports, and crowded conditions in Northeastern airspace had led Trans World Airlines, United Airlines, and finally Continental Airlines to seek more profitable routes, leaving US Airways the sole carrier.

In late 2004, after negotiations with the County, Northwest Airlines agreed to add Northwest Airlink service to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, which began on May 2, 2005. US Airways nonstop service to Pittsburgh, where it maintains focus city operations, resumed on November 9, 2005 but ceased again on April 1, 2006 due to low yield. Passenger traffic has improved with the additional service; the airport served about 140,000 passengers in 2004, increasing to around 170,000 in 2007.

On October 6, 2008, Continental Connection resumed service between Ithaca and Newark Liberty International Airport with four daily flights.

In 2009, Regional Elite Airline Services took over the ground handling duties from Mesaba Airlines for the Delta Connection flights to Detroit.

Starting on March 24, 2012, US Airways Express will terminate all service between Ithaca and New York-LaGuardia as part of a slot-exchange deal with Delta.

In November of 2012, all ground handling for Delta Air Lines and United Airlines will be handled by DAL Global Services.