Hancock Airport: For the People or the Businesses?

It is uncertain in which direction Hancock Airport will take off.

As the state continues to mull over the new budget, city officials continue to clash over the idea of an authority managed airport.

The Syracuse Common Council is currently stalled over whether or not an authority will manage the airport, John Copanas, Syracuse City Common Council Clerk, said.

An authority would reduce the politics involved in running the airport, allowing for an additional runway to be built without as much concern for community protest, Copanas said.

Hancock Airport is the only airport in New York State that has the capacity to build another runway, Copanas said. An authority managed facility will allow for more air traffic into and out of the airport, he said.

The increase in air traffic will stimulate air freight jobs that will draw businesses and people into Syracuse and help the economy, Copanas said.

But the construction of an additional runway would not be without problems. Members of the surrounding communities may protest the transition from city owned to an authority owned airport, he said.

“You don’t have to be run by an authority to be an efficient airport”, Copanas said, “but an authority is strictly business”.

While city officials in control of the airport answer to the people, an authority would answer to the call for successful business transactions, Copanas said.