SWAN LAKE, NY — There was a lot going on 55 years ago. The Music & Art Fair called Woodstock attracted half a million people. A quarter of a million people marched on the nation’s capital in protest of the Vietnam War. And the newly constructed Sullivan County International Airport opened its 6,500-foot runway “designed to handle twin-engine jets as large as the 105-passnger Douglas DC-9 and the three engine Boeing 727.”

The $6.5 million project started in 1966 with a federal grant but never really earned the title “international,” although Mohawk Airlines was the first scheduled carrier to use the facility, offering scheduled flights from Montreal and to Toronto in Canada.

From the new terminal, daily flights were launched to Buffalo, Elmira and New York City, connecting air travelers to such destinations as Boston, Cleveland, Detroit, Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C.

According to a two-part series in “Retrospect,” written in 2016 by Sullivan County Historian John Conway, “The construction of Sullivan County International Airport in 1969 was envisioned as another breakthrough in transportation that would foster a significant economic milestone, the rebirth of the county’s floundering resort industry.”

“Despite the optimism that accompanied the airport’s opening, however, it never fulfilled expectations, or even came close,” continued Conway, citing a “brutal winter and labor problems that delayed construction,” five operators in the airport’s first four years of operation, and in 1972 an investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s office for alleged fraud during construction. 

By 1985, the “nearly deserted operation” prompted the New York Times to publish an article headlined “In the Catskills, an International Airport Airlines Don’t Use.”

On a typical day in 2005, the Airport Café was the only place in the otherwise empty terminal that reportedly showed any signs of life. The previous café closed its doors in the wake of the attacks of 9/11.

Ray McCarthy, an impressively large man sporting a silver ponytail, known for his grilled cheese sandwiches and hot coffee, was interviewed by a local daily newspaper at the time, and boasted he was going to serve some of the single-prop pilots who make 30,000 takeoffs and landings annually. 

But as time moved along, the airstrip deteriorated, the café shuttered and the word on the street was that the airport was home to a few rich individuals to hangar their private jets.

 ‘Not just a pit stop’

On March 22, 2024, the Office of NYS Gov. Kathy Hochul issued a press release announcing the start of an $18.5 million construction project through the $230 million Upstate Airport Economic Development and Revitalization Competition.

The project was designed to modernize the local airport and “create a gateway that will fuel economic growth and foster increased tourism for the entire Catskill Region.”

It will replace the decades-old terminal with “a spacious, new 15,000 square-foot, energy efficient building that will become both a welcoming destination for visitors to the region and a popular spot for residents to come and enjoy the Catskill Region’s scenic beauty.”

Highlighting sustainability, the new terminal will feature plentiful natural lighting, an all-electric HVAC system utilizing high-efficiency heat pumps integrated with geothermal wells, an enlarged restaurant and bar area with an outdoor dining area, a pilot’s lounge and “other amenities that will enhance the passenger experience and create a modern travel center.”

“Airports are the front doors to our upstate communities and vital economic engines for the region,” said Hochul. “This project will provide the Catskills with the state-of-the-art airport it deserves and greet thousands of visitors per year as they explore the region.”

The Sullivan County International Airport project was one of nine upstate airports awarded a total of $230 million in the latest round of the Upstate Airport Economic Development and Revitalization competition.

The competition is administered by the NYS Department of Transportation, and was open to upstate commercial passenger service airports along with  airports providing specialized service for commercial aircraft and/or corporate jets.

NYS Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther said of the project, “Investments like this are game changers for my district. This project will invigorate our economy, drive tourism, and highlight the natural beauty of Sullivan County... Sullivan County is not just a pit stop, but rather a destination for travel in New York State.”

The project has a total estimated cost of $23 million, and it is expected to be completed by the spring of 2025. 

 A new beginning 

According to Julian Motola, superintendent at the Sullivan County International Airport, the goal of the rehabbed facility is to “make it a larger player, a unique situation in the Catskills, because there are not too many airports in the area.” He noted that existing airports in the New York State area include Wurtsboro, Orange County and Stewart, while in neighboring PA there is Wilkes-Barre Scranton. In the metro area there are large internationals such as LaGuardia, JFK and Newark.

“Look at a map; we’re kind of smack in the middle, especially with what’s going on to the north of us,” he said. “The overall hope of this airport is to bring money into the area. There are a lot of phenomenal businesses in the area; it’s really changed.”

Continuing this thread of thought, Motola said, “The airport is definitely a reflection of how the county is doing, and it’s on an upswing... It’s a transportation hub; we want to start people off in the right direction and become a very large player in air travel.”

He noted that during the renovation/construction project, general aviation use of the airport has “dropped off,” but private commercial aircraft use the facility, as well as Hatzolah Air, a lifesaving effort. In 2022, it moved its headquarters from Westchester to Sullivan. 

The nonprofit emergency response team leases an undeveloped section of the facility and hangar space from the county, and participates with the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office and county emergency management to add to emergency operations responses.

In response to reports that some local pilots view the expenditure of funds on a new terminal building or other infrastructure projects, rather than improving and/or adding hangar space, Motola replied that the FFA issues very specific grants for the allocation of funds, and that plans are in the works to apply for grants for building new hangars.

“We definitely need to build more box hangars, and that’s in the capital plan in the next five years,” he said.

In addressing the perception of some that the airport serves as a playground for the rich, he said, “The airport has had a negative stigma within the community, [but] we want the airport to grow businesses in Sullivan County...We need to change that perception, and let people know it’s here, and be utilized locally,” he added. 

Motola, an Eagle Scout who attended the Ten Mile River Scout Camps, when not managing the county’s airport enjoys fishing for wild trout in the pristine waters of the Catskills.

Learn more

The Sullivan County International Airport is located at 75 County Rd. 183A in Swan Lake. Visit www.sullivanny.us/Departments/Airport.