New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo last month unveiled a plan that would move the entire massive air cargo operations at New York City’s busy JFK International Airport to a separate air cargo facility located 60 miles north of the city.
For decades, JFK has been one of the nation’s three busiest air cargo ports. The others are Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport and Los Angeles’ LAX International Airport.
But Cuomo said it’s time for JFK to undergo a massive overhaul as a passenger-only facility, including a revamping of its passenger mobility network, construction and expansion of hotels surrounding the airport, and offering airport guests a wider variety of dining and shopping options.
All cargo and deck — or bellyhold — traffic currently being handled by JFK would be shifted to Stewart International Airport, located in the upstate Hudson Valley town of Newburgh, New York.
The plan didn’t go over well with some New Yorkers.
Brandon Fried, executive director of the Airforwarders Association, said he has serious doubts about the feasibility of the plan. For one, about half of JFK’s cargo traffic moves in and out in the bellies of passenger airlines. Fried doubted that these carriers — whose primary revenue source is passenger traffic — would be willing to divert flights 60 miles away from New York City just to accommodate freight flows.
“I’m not sure what we will be fighting since the idea is so bad that it will fall on its face,” Fried told DC Velocity. He added that Cuomo’s plan was “half baked” and “impractical” and criticized the governor for announcing it without consulting the forwarding industry.