Ithaca Tompkins International Airport
Ithaca Tompkins International Airport is a county-owned airport located in the Town of Lansing, three miles northeast of Ithaca, the county seat and only city in Tompkins County, New York. The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2019–2023 categorized it as a primary commercial service facility. Federal Aviation Administration records say the airport had 99,070 passenger boardings in 2018.
Nonstop scheduled commercial service is available to Charlotte, Philadelphia, Detroit, and Washington–Dulles.
History
The original Ithaca Municipal Airport was 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 limited its growth. 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. Scheduled DC-3 flights began in 1948; the airline changed its name to Mohawk Airlines in 1952 and merged with Allegheny Airlines in 1972. Later the airport was served by Empire Airlines and Air North; the latter became Brockway Air, which merged into Piedmont Airlines. Allegheny, Piedmont, and Empire all eventually merged into US Airways, which later merged into American Airlines.
Other carriers included Commuter Airlines, Mall Airways, Command Airways, Ransome Airlines, and Continental Express.
In 1994, a new, 33,000 square foot, $11-million terminal opened, replacing the cramped original building. Simultaneously, the runway was extended from to its present. Runway 32 has an instrument landing system and a medium intensity approach light system with runway alignment lights. Runway 14 has an instrument approach based on the VOR/DME at the airport. A short turf runway was commissioned parallel to the paved runway, but during the 1980s a north–south turf runway was west of the terminal building, about long and wide.
Airline traffic peaked in 1990 at 226,813 passengers, but by the end of the decade the small size of the market, proximity to Syracuse Hancock International Airport and other regional airports, and crowded airspace led Trans World Airlines, United Airlines, and finally Continental Airlines to leave.
In 2001, the airport renamed itself the Ithaca Tompkins Regional Airport, replacing its former moniker, the Tompkins County Airport.
In late 2004, after negotiations with the County, Northwest Airlines agreed to add Northwest Airlink service to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, which began May 2, 2005. US Airways nonstops to Pittsburgh, a focus city, resumed on November 9, 2005 but ended 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 2011, the airport served 242,493 passengers on three airlines.
In 2009 Regional Elite Airline Services took over ground handling duties from Mesaba Airlines for the Delta Connection flights to Detroit. As of November 2012, all ground handling for Delta and United Airlines will be by DAL Global Services.
Starting on March 24, 2012, US Airways Express ended all service between Ithaca and New York–LaGuardia as part of a slot-exchange deal with Delta.
The 2013 Federal sequester did not result in the closure of the airport's control tower. The U.S. Department of Transportation restored the funding needed to support the continued operation of the Ithaca air traffic control tower.
In 2014, Robert Nichols, who had been the airport's general manager since 1990, retired.
On September 12, 2017, the airport announced that it had been awarded $2.4 million in grants from the FAA to rehabilitate the general aviation tarmac, add new perimeter fencing and lighting, and build a second passenger boarding bridge. Simultaneously, United Airlines announced that it was upgrading its Ithaca to Newark service from 37-seat Dash 8 turboprop aircraft to 50-seat, Embraer ERJ-145 jet aircraft, meaning that all flights to and from Ithaca will be aboard jet aircraft.
On May 3, 2018, New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo announced at the airport a new $22 million project to double the size of the 25-year-old airport terminal, adding six new gates, three new jet bridges, and a customs facility to allow international air travel to Ithaca, as well as expanded office space for the Transportation Security Administration and airlines. Cuomo returned to Ithaca on October 16, 2018, to help break ground for the newly-renamed "Ithaca-Tompkins International Airport." At groundbreaking, the total cost was expected to be $24.7 million, and the renovated terminal will include a restaurant and bar. The addition was designed by architecture firm C&S Companies.
On July 12, 2018, the airport announced that American Airlines would start nonstop service to Charlotte, with one weekly flight on Saturdays beginning in December 2018. At the same time, United Airlines announced the cancellation of its service to Newark, replacing it with a nonstop to Washington-Dulles effective October 4.
The second phase of construction began in the spring of 2019, to be completed by late November or early December. The airport formally announced the completion of the renovations on December 20, 2019. Construction costs had come to $14.2 million in state funding, $10 million in federal funding, and $10.6 million from Tompkins County.
Facilities
The airport covers 531 acres at an elevation of 1,099 feet. It has two runways: 14/32 is 6,977 by 150 feet asphalt and 15/33 is 2,018 by 50 feet turf.In 2011 the airport had 41,286 aircraft operations, average 113 per day: 77% general aviation, 23% air taxi, <1% military, and <1% airline. 57 aircraft were then based at the airport: 77% single-engine, 9% multi-engine, and 14% jet.
For over 60 years, the airport has been home to the East Hill Flying Club. The club offers lessons and the use of nine small planes to its members. It is also the home of Taughannock Aviation which provides business jet charter and management as well as being the fixed-base operator.
Delta Connection uses the Bombardier CRJ200 to and from ITH. American Eagle and United Express use the Embraer EMB-145 to and from ITH.
Airlines and destinations
| Destinations Map |
Traffic
| Rank | Airport | Passengers | Carriers |
| 1 | Detroit, Michigan | 36,570 | Delta |
| 2 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 35,900 | American |
| 3 | Washington, D.C. | 17,990 | United |
| 4 | Newark, New Jersey | 7,750 | United |
| 5 | Charlotte, North Carolina | 910 | American |