Although renovations and expansions may decrease, all 3 New York airports will remain open

But staying open was not easy. The interstate agency said it expects to lose $ 3 billion in revenue over the next two years due to the crisis, which could jeopardize long-term renovation and expansion plans for its facilities. , including John F. Kennedy International, LaGuardia International Airports and Newark Liberty. In addition to these projects, airports are faced with a multitude of new security protocols, which can include temperature controls for each passenger, and make both essential to restore the confidence of hesitant travelers.

To keep airports operating, the port authority has taken many measures to cut costs, close entire lounges and terminals, close access and limit services, said Cotton. Almost all airport retail stores are closed, with the exception of takeout food.

In addition, closing an airport would have been a logistical nightmare and limited access to the region at a time when its hospitals needed more medical personnel and equipment to save lives.

“Air cargo has been vital here,” said Cotton, adding that the three airports have very different areas.

“We did not go to the FAA to find the permit we would need to close,” he said. “We wouldn’t do that.”

But keeping airports in operation threatens to significantly affect the port authority’s more than $ 37 billion ten-year capital improvement plan.

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Many projects to modernize the old New York airports are already underway. They range from cosmetic changes to terminal replacements and new AirTrain construction that will improve the long and unpredictable time it takes to get to and from the three travel centers.

The projects also include the complete reconstruction and unification of LaGuardia Airport, a disjointed collection of terminals with numerous services and restaurants badly located on the wrong side of security checkpoints.

To continue this work, the agency’s representatives have asked the federal government for direct assistance of $ 3 billion for future stimulus plans, which the Senate should debate in the coming weeks.

This week, 27 Democratic and Republican members of Congress representing New York and New Jersey supported the agency’s request for help in a letter to the Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi and the leader of the Senate majority. , Mitch McConnell.

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“The port authority has continued to operate to bring urgently needed goods and supplies to the region, as well as essential workers where they need to be to respond to those most affected by the crisis,” said the minister. letter.

Capital projects are expected to invest $ 20 billion in infrastructure projects over the next five years and create more than 100,000 local jobs, the letter said.

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The management of the Port Authority repeatedly stressed on Thursday that the agency is financially self-sufficient and reap most of its profits from airports in normal times.

“We don’t get recurring funding from the federal or state governments,” said Cotton.

But the regional agency is far from the only stakeholder hoping to enter the next federal aid bill, if there is another stimulus bill. House passed $ 3 billion package called HEROES Act last week, which includes hundreds of billions of aid to state and local governments, as well as another direct payment to Americans and an extension of benefits unemployment. reinforced. Although it paves the way for debate in the Senate, some economists expect the final bill to be half of what the Democrats asked for.

It is still too early to say which parts of the Port Authority’s capital project would face the hurdle if federal assistance fails, said Kevin O’Toole, chairman of the board of commissioners, on Thursday. agency.

“I think it is too premature to venture into what programs should be enlarged, reduced, summarized. We are looking at all kinds of options, “said O’Toole.

Cotton, however, said his infrastructure works were “deeply threatened”.

The agency also announced that it has formed eight working groups to develop new operational protocols in light of the crisis, including one focused exclusively on airports. Three other cross-functional working groups are studying strategies to improve health and safety at their facilities, which in addition to airports include bridges and tunnels, the PATH train system, Penn Station and the downtown bus station. Port Authority of the city.

The crisis may have opened a large hole in regional airport revenues, but New York airports are not facing any sort of long-term existential crisis, said Jorge Roberts, CEO of AvPorts, which operates many general aviation airports. The smallest around the tri-state area, including Westchester County Airport.

“Before the crisis, demand for airport capacity in New York exceeded supply,” said Roberts. This is one of the reasons why the region’s relay airports in New Jersey, Long Island and New Haven were so busy. JFK needs more doors, Newark was already at full capacity.

When and how New York airports will begin to recover remains a formidable question.

“We are at the bottom of the well, and we are about to start going out in terms of restrictions,” Cotton said on Thursday. “When you’re at the bottom of the well, it’s hard to see the light.”