East Hampton Airport

East Hampton Airport (IATA: HTO[2], ICAO: KHTO, FAA LID: HTO) is a public use airport located three nautical miles (6 km) west of East Hampton, a village in the Town of East Hampton, Suffolk County, New York, United States.[1][3] The airport is owned and operated by the Town of East Hampton[1] and located in the town's hamlet of Wainscott.[4][5] It is included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, which categorized it as a general aviation facility.[6]

East Hampton Airport
Summary
Airport typePublic
Owner/OperatorTown of East Hampton
ServesEast Hampton, New York
LocationWainscott, New York
Elevation AMSL55 ft / 17 m
Coordinates40°57′34″N 072°15′06″W
Map
HTO
Location of airport in New York
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
10/28 4,255 1,297 Asphalt
16/34 2,060 628 Asphalt
Statistics (2007)
Aircraft operations31,612
Based aircraft89

As of July 2014, there is a continuing debate about airport use by nonresidents arriving by helicopters, larger private jets, and seaplanes to visit the Hamptons, and in particular, the rotary wing traffic; residents around the airport and in general have complained about noise, the money spent on the airport, and on implications of acceptance of federal funds on local control over traffic. Debates include the repair of runways and fencing, with opponents in favor of unrestricted use promoting federal funding and those favoring restricted use and sound abatement arguing for user fees and that maintain local control; tensions have risen sufficiently that local elections have been determined over politician's views on the issues. Helicopter and seaplane traffic has continued to increase further over the period 2015–2018, such that large swathes of the rural North and South Forks of Long Island experience noise levels comparable to those encountered close to major commercial airports.[7][8][9]

Facilities and aircraft
Aircraft parked at East Hampton Airport in August 2017.

East Hampton Airport covers an area of 570 acres (231 ha) at an elevation of 55 feet (17 m) above mean sea level. It has two active runways with asphalt surfaces: 10/28 is 4,255 by 100 feet (1,297 x 30 m) and 16/34 is 2,060 by 75 feet (628 x 23 m).[1]

For the 12-month period ending September 21, 2007, the airport had 31,612 aircraft operations, an average of 86 per day: 52% general aviation, 47.8% air taxi, and 0.2% military. At that time there were 89 aircraft based at this airport: 84.3% single-engine, 5.6% multi-engine, 5.6% jet, and 4.5% helicopter.[1]

Airlines and destinations
AirlinesDestinations
Cape Air New York–Skyport[10]
Fly the Whale New York–Skyport
Tailwind Air Service New York–Skyport
Tropic Ocean Airways Seasonal: New York–Skyport

HeliFlite founded in 1998, offers on-demand charter service, helicopter management, fractional ownership and a 25-hour HeliCard™ product; it operates a fleet of twin engine & dual piloted Bell 430 and Sikorsky S76 executive class helicopters.

Trump Air provided regularly scheduled helicopter service in the late 1980s and early 1990s; the last scheduled fixed wing airline was East Hampton Airlines, which now offers chartered service.

Non-residential use controversy

There is an historic and continuing controversy centered on non-residential use that peaks in summer months, and generates issues related to noise and traffic, where noise issue from helicopters is particularly acute. In the summer of 2007 US Helicopter announced plans for scheduled service between the airport and the East 34th Street Heliport in New York City (departing the city on Friday afternoons and returning on Sunday evenings, with a roundtrip ticket cost of ~$1,600.[11] In response United States Senator Charles Schumer introduced legislation in July 2007 requiring the Federal Aviation Agency "to study helicopter traffic over Long Island, and report within 90 days on ways to reduce noise and divert the flight paths from homes." The New York Times noted that East Hampton Airport is the most popular destination for helicopters from New York City and that there were 2,400 helicopter arrivals and departures from January to June 2007. James L. Brundige, the airport's manager at that time, said helicopter flights had doubled in the past decade.[12]

With the advent of smartphone applications allowing helicopter and other flights to be arranged in manner akin to automotive ride-sharing, the issues related to helicopter traffic have risen, leading to town meetings and competing political efforts and tensions.[7][8][9] Helicopter traffic at the airport during the summer of 2014 is reported to have increased by approximately 40% over that of the preceding year, pitting "the very affluent" (town residents) against "the exceptionally rich" (seasonal non-residents visiting via helicopter).[8]

Other uses

Marine One was based at the airport for one week in August 1998 and 1999 during week-long visits by Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton to the Georgica Pond home of director Steven Spielberg. Clinton conducted a fundraiser in a hangar at the airport in 1999.

The PBS children's television show It's a Big Big World was taped at Wainscott Studios which is the industrial park associated with the airport.

References
  1. FAA Airport Form 5010 for HTO PDF. Federal Aviation Administration. Effective November 15, 2012.
  2. "IATA Airport Code Search (HTO: East Hampton)". International Air Transport Association. Retrieved June 15, 2013.
  3. "Distance and heading from Village of East Hampton (40°57'09"N 72°11'46"W) to KHTO (40°57'34"N 72°15'06"W)". Great Circle Mapper. Retrieved June 15, 2013.
  4. "Airport Location and Hours of Operation" (PDF). Town of East Hampton. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 14, 2014. Retrieved June 15, 2013.
  5. "Map showing airport, Wainscott, and Village of East Hampton". MapQuest. Retrieved June 15, 2013.
  6. "2011–2015 NPIAS Report, Appendix A" (PDF). National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems. Federal Aviation Administration. October 4, 2010. Archived from the original (PDF, 2.03 MB) on September 27, 2012.
  7. Joanne Pilgrim (2014) "Outcry Over East Hampton Airport Noise," East Hampton Star, August 28, 2014, see .
  8. Ginia Bellafante (2014) "Never Rich Enough," The New Times, August 29, 2014,see .
  9. Jacob Bernstein (2014) "Where Snarl Meets Roar: Airport Noise is Raising Hackles in the Hamptons This Summer The New York Times, July 25, 2014, see .
  10. Liu, Jim. "Cape Air adds New York Skyports Seaplane Base service from May 2020". Routesonline. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
  11. Karni, Annie (July 3, 2007). "New Hamptons Transit Airs on Side of Luxury". The New York Sun. Retrieved August 14, 2009.
  12. Belson, Ken; Newman, Maria (July 10, 2007). "Schumer Calls for Limits on Helicopters to Hamptons". The New York Times. Retrieved August 14, 2009.
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