The Ithaca Tompkins Regional Airport

Queens and Tompkins are the two most diverse counties in all New York State. We try hard to be an inclusive society and we’re pretty successful at it here. And that diversity is reflective of our global engagement. I believe it’s also reflective of our success, because we are able to harness the energy, the ideas, and the investment from the entire planet, not just from our local surroundings. And that makes us a richer, more agile, and growing society. And that’s all built around the Airport because in the Finger Lakes region, it’s not a very good place to run roads; the main east/ west roads are to the north and the south of us, and there are always lakes that you can’t cross. So, we don’t have canal boats, we don’t have trains, we don’t have a super highway, but we’ve got an airport. And the Airport is really the center of the economic development activity for the community that allows it to be globally connected.” “There’s an economic development entity in Tompkins County called TCAD – Tompkins County Area Development. They’re the folks that look for opportunities to bring businesses in and works to keep established businesses successful and in the community,” Hall adds. “We are a tool in their tool kit; we’re a tool for economic development. When you’re integral to the area’s economic development, you have service. We’ve got three airlines going to 750 one-stop global connections; that’s pretty impressive. We wouldn’t have that if we weren’t the economic powerhouse that we are. When you invest in aviation, and develop in the right way, you’ve got yourself a good asset in building jobs and strengthening your economy.” In order to keep up with the area’s, and the Airport’s, growth, Hall reports that ITH is currently halfway through a terminal renovation and expansion project that will increase the size of the aging facility by about 40 percent. The $30-35 million cost is being split by the State of New York ($14.2 million), the federal government via the FAA ($10 million), and the remainder from a variety of local sources. “The terminal was built 25 years ago and had run out of its service life,” Hall notes, “including the fact that the physical layout was not compliant with post-9/11 security regulations.