Airport Authority is all Bussiness

Hancock International Airport is run by the city, but a 6 year effort by Syracuse Mayor Driscoll hopes to create an airport authority.

The proposed airport authority would be an all business group and move away from the politics that currently influence decisions at the airport, City Clerk John Copanas said.

Driscoll originally proposed the plan to create an authority back in 2003 in order to handle the increasing debt that the airport creates. Because the Airport is city run, all renovations and projects contribute to the city debt, which is currently close to its constitutional limit.

The creation of an Airport Authority would lead to beneficial results for the surrounding areas but also include negative aspects, Copanas said.

Hancock International Airport is currently the only airport in New York State that has the land available to create a new runway.

The new runway would help route air traffic from JFK and O’Hare. More air freight would be passing through the airport spurring economic expansion and creating new jobs in the Greater Syracuse area.

However, the towns of Cicero, Salina and Dewitt, the 3 cities in which the airport is located, have been unable to come to agreements with the city.
The towns want compensation for the taxable property they will lose and many residents of the area do not want the increased air traffic noise Copanas said.