MacArthur Airport temporary customs facility delayed

A planned temporary customs facility that would allow international flights at Long Island MacArthur Airport will not be operational this summer, as airport operator Islip Town had previously suggested, Supervisor Angie Carpenter said.

The makeshift $1 million customs operation was meant to be a placeholder for a permanent $10 million facility the town hopes to build with promised funding from Suffolk County and the state as a part of ongoing efforts to revive MacArthur, which has lost more than half of its daily flights and almost half of its yearly passengers since 2007.

Carpenter, in a phone interview, said airport officials need solid promises of international flights before they bring in a customs facility, and said previous estimates that the new facility would be operational by summer were unrealistic.

“I think that would be a little too aggressive,” Carpenter said. “I know our former commissioner was thinking we were going to have it May 1,” she said, but added airport management can’t assume “we build it and they will come — we really have to lock down commitments from airlines to initiate that service.”

Carpenter did not say when the temporary customs shop might be up and running.

Critics of the plan to build a customs facility have questioned whether MacArthur, with its relatively short runways and competition from nearby Kennedy Airport, will be able to attract international service, and whether the $10 million investment will be worth the cost. If customs approves the plan, MacArthur could also be on the hook for staffing costs, at least initially. Aviation experts have also pointed out that in MacArthur’s history of courtship with airlines, many negotiations for new service never materialized.

But as new MacArthur carrier National Airlines prepares to start its service between Ronkonkoma and Puerto Rico, Carpenter said she is hopeful the Orlando-based airline will eventually want to fly internationally from Ronkonkoma. National has expressed interest in the planned customs facility, Carpenter said.

SEE PHOTOS7 airlines that flew away from LI's MacArthur Airport

She also teased at possible new service from another domestic carrier.

“I think it’s going to be successful,” Carpenter said of National’s flights to Aguadilla and San Juan. The service, initially set to begin July 1, will start sooner due to demand, said National CEO Edward Davidson.

“Since we announced service from Long Island MacArthur Airport, demand was so strong that we decided to move our launch date up to June 1,” Davidson said in a statement. “We’re actively exploring additional markets, but have no destinations to announce at this time.”

In exchange for bringing new service to MacArthur, National will enjoy two years of waived airport charges, including landing fees, terminal charges and fuel flowage fees, according to a source with knowledge of the deal. This type of incentive package, which is common when an airline brings new service to a small airport, is worth between $400,000 and $500,000 for one year, the source said.

National passengers could also generate between $300,000 and $350,000 a year in related revenue for MacArthur and its businesses, including parking, car rentals and concessions, the source said.

Carpenter said the incentive package is being offered based on a commitment by National to stay at the airport for a minimum of 36 months.

“If they pull out sooner, they have to reimburse us for whatever incentives were given to them,” she said, adding: “I was trying to avoid the Allegiant and PenAir scenario,” in which both airlines served MacArthur for less than a year before leaving.

Talks are also in the works for another domestic carrier to come to Ronkonkoma, Carpenter said.

“We met with an airline just the other day who’s interested in domestic service,’’ she said. ‘‘I would say we might have some news from them within a couple of weeks. They were very, very interested, they were very impressed.”

Carpenter declined to identify the airline and would not say where they would fly.