Schumer Calls On Feds For Funding To Help Market Greater Binghamton Airport

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today urged the Department of Transportation to award federal funds to the Greater Binghamton Airport to help promote itself to passengers and induce another carrier to the area. Schumer said the funding will enable the Greater Binghamton Airport to create an aggressive media campaign for its current service and offer incentives for new service to added destinations.

"The Binghamton area is ideal for this air service program," Senator Schumer said. "One of the first things businesses look at when they consider moving to a new location is whether there are good air service options in the area. We need to bolster air service in the Southern Tier, plain and simple, and these grants would help do that by promoting the airport not only to potential passengers but to new carriers as well."

I want to thank Senator Schumer for all that he has done for the Greater Binghamton area and in particular all that he has done to secure funds for our airport, said Broome County Executive Barbara J. Fiala. His latest effort to help us secure marketing dollars to help promote our airport is exactly what we need right now. Our airports success is directly tied to this areas economic prosperity. We have a first rate facility and a first rate operation. Now we just need to let the airlines and the customers understand all that we have to offer.

The Greater Binghamton Airport is the largest in the Southern Tier. In addition to a sizeable population, the Greater Binghamton Area is home to a major, nationallyranked university center and many corporations, all of which could benefit from improved air service. The Greater Binghamton Airport received this grant in 2002 and was successful in upgrading the aircraft used on various regional routes from turboprops to jets. This grant would be used to aggressively market current and future airport services. Broome County is working closely with the Industrial Development Agency to direct $100,000 towards this program.

In a personal letter to Norman Mineta, Secretary of the Department of Transportation, Schumer wrote, Because of its location within a reasonable driving distance from other communities and universities in the Finger Lakes Region and the Southern Tier, the reach of the Greater Binghamton Airport extends far beyond Binghamton. These regions of New York are starved for more reliable and affordable air service. I am confident that air carriers would take advantage of any incentives and residents would quickly respond to advertising for new service. Funding will be used for new destinations, and a campaign will be launched to reverse recent trends of decreased local passenger activity.