HIA-LI, one of Long Island’s largest business advocacy organizations, praised the decision by Breeze Airways to select Long Island MacArthur Airport in Islip as its base of operations in New York State – and to initiate nonstop service from the airport to Charleston, SC and Norfolk, VA.
The airline’s choice of Long Island MacArthur Airport follows closely on the heels of the October 2021 release of HIA-LI’s Long Island MacArthur Airport Survey. The survey of 504 Long Island businesses – spearheaded and conducted by HIA-LI Board member Joe Campolo, Managing Partner of Campolo, Middleton & McCormick, LLP, a law firm headquartered in Ronkonkoma – found that the addition of more nonstop flights at the airport could potentially generate more than $1 billion in new revenue for the region annually. Mr. Campolo is also a member of the Town of Islip’s Long Island MacArthur Airport Advisory Board
The surveyed companies currently spend an average of 36.2 percent of their overall travel budgets at Long Island MacArthur Airport. But if the airport were to add additional nonstop flights, respondents said that this percentage would rise to 78.8 percent, a 218-percent increase.
Breeze Airways, which began operations in May, presently serves 18 cities in 14 states. The airline was founded by David Neeleman, co-founder of JetBlue as well as three other successful air carriers. Breeze will begin non-stop service from MacArthur Airport to the two cities in February 2022.
HIA-LI also applauded the leadership of Town of Islip Supervisor Angie Carpenter for aggressively promoting the airport’s expansion.
“Long Island MacArthur is a regional asset. We are thrilled the business community, and particularly HIA-LI, has partnered with us to promote and support the airport, as we continue to work with all of our carriers: American Airlines, Frontier Airlines, Southwest Airlines, and our newest carrier, Breeze, to bring Long Island more travel options,” said Islip Town Supervisor, Angie Carpenter.
“Those committed to Long Island’s long-term economic future must always take into account the value of our regional travel infrastructure,” said HIA-LI President and CEO Terri Alessi-Miceli. “The Long Island MacArthur Airport Survey contributed to the groundswell of business and government support for attracting new, nonstop carriers like Breeze to our region. HIA-LI will build on this momentum as we head into the new year.”
“Long Island MacArthur Airport already stands as an important economic development asset for the Suffolk-Nassau region,” said Richard Humann, PE, President and CEO of H2M architects + engineers and serves as Chairperson of the HIA-LI board. “Our survey aimed to help the airport build momentum toward expanding its schedule of nonstop offerings, and the addition of Breeze Airways is an important first-step in that process.”
“MacArthur Airport is a critical asset to the Long Island business community. When the data from the survey started pouring in, it was clear that private industry strongly supports the airport while recognizing the need for more nonstop travel destinations,” said Mr. Campolo. “Now, the addition of Breeze Airways at MacArthur Airport will open up more possibilities for the Long Island region and opportunities for further economic advancement.”