Business View Magazine | December 2019

196 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2019 AT A GLANCE NORTHEAST PHILADELPHIA AIRPORT WHAT: A general aviation airport WHERE: Northeast Philadelphia, Pennsylvania WEBSITE: www.phl.org/business/PNE T he story of the Northeast Philadelphia Airport is one of resilience and renewal – of bouncing back from the edge of extinction. At one time, it was called the North Philadelphia Airport and it housed a fire station known as Engine 18 (later designated Engine 76), with 33 fire fighters, one pumper truck, and a Jeep. “It was just a grass strip like most of them were; one of three within about a three-square- mile area,” says John Brewer, Airport Manager. “The other two closed in 1942. The United States Army Air Corps took our 545-acre parcel over and did what the military always does – paved three runways so that they could accommodate the wind no matter what direction. Pilots were trained here for the war. They were flying the T-6 Texan aircraft and graduated from those to the higher performance T-51 Mustang. We had barracks on this airport up until the 1990s.” Just two years after the military had procured it, the airfield was turned over to the City of Philadelphia, which still owns and operates both Northeast Philadelphia and its “big sister” airport, Philadelphia International. The acquisition proved to be a turning point for Northeast Philadelphia, as under the force of circumstances, its role was recast as that of a general aviation reliever airfield for Philadelphia International. “During the 1970s, commercial activity really slowed down at this Airport,” Brewer explains. “By the mid-1980s, there was no commercial traffic here left, at all. It was all down at Philadelphia International. We gave up our Part 139 certification. With no airlines here, the fire station closed, and the firefighters were re- assigned to other Philadelphia fire departments.” In the face of these impracticalities, the Airport fought to preserve itself. It did so by cementing its ties to Philadelphia International under the City’s common ownership. “We’re in competition A B E S T - K E P T S E C R E T