New York Governor Kathy Hochul was at Albany International Airport today to highlight millions of dollars in state investments.
Last year, Hochul said nine airports in upstate would receive $230 million for revitalization projects, including Albany, Saratoga County, Sullivan County and Adirondack airports. The funding is from the Upstate Airport Economic Development and Revitalization Competition.
On Thursday, the Democrat came to Albany International Airport to discuss some of the details, including a rooftop solar array, LED lighting, upgrades to several public areas of the airport and streamlined security, a children’s play zone, improved conference facilities, and upgraded ventilation and HVAC systems.
“Two and a half years from now, when we celebrate the reopening of this airport, it'll herald in a new era, an era of based on the confidence of a region that matters,” she said. “It'll herald in an era where visitors and our residents alike will have that sense that they matter. And that this region will really know it's taking off.”
Hochul says the $60 million investment comes at a critical time for the airport, which is seeing a raft of upgrades in recent years including a new garage, added space for airlines, additional terminal gates and new cargo facilities.
Local mayors were among the officials from the Capital Region who attended the celebration.
“When you think about this airport, this is the oldest municipal airport in the United States, built in 1928, there was a mayor at the time, Mayor John Boyd Thatcher, who was ahead of his time, he said, any city that does not accommodate this new air traffic would eventually be left behind,” Hochul said.
Philip Calderone is Albany County Airport Authority CEO.
“A major component of this project will be a redesign of the TSA checkpoint area to make sure that we have a smoother and, as the governor indicated, much easier way for passengers. Not as stressful as it is sometimes during pinch-point days when we have really busy travel periods,” he said.
Democratic Albany County Executive Dan McCoy says most of the upgrades are aimed at improving the travel experience at a pivotal point for the airline industry.
“It's really about the passengers that come through this airport that are going to be more convenient and see a beautiful terminal and easy access,” he said. “Because sometimes it's not about the flowers or anything else, they want the convenience, right. They don't want to wait in a long line at TSA, they don't want the inconvenience. They just want to get through, get to their gate, have a good experience and wait for the plane to take off.”
Also Thursday, Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey announced $14 million for public and regional airports including $8.5 million to rehabilitate the Worcester Regional Airport.
