A make-over is in the works for Hancock International Airport.
Syracuse has won a $500,000 federal grant for Hancock International Airport to help bring low-costs airlines to Syracuse.
“The grant is really geared towards communities that have airports that need more service, need more competition, need more carriers,” said Christina Reale, public information officer for the airport.
Hancock International is a small airport with only two terminals and two baggage claim areas. It has few restaurants and gift shops, including Sbarro and Au Bon Pain, which serve breakfast, lunch and dinner. It is home to only seven airlines with limited service and expensive tickets.
But grant’s goal is to change that, said Reale. “The goal is to make this airport as competitive as possible and the only way to do that is to have as many airlines operating here as we can. The more airlines that operate here stimulates competition and competition stimulates lower fares,” Reale said. That’s really the goal — low fares, lots of service to the destinations that people want to go to.”
One of the biggest complaints about the airport is high ticket prices. For example, Mohammad Aslami, a Syracuse University law student, cites $400 and $500 for tickets from Hancock to Washington, D.C., and to Denver. “I feel paying $500 for a ticket is an exorbitant amount of money to be spending,” said Aslami.
Syracuse students and residents said they think the grant will help lower the costs of tickets and help them save money. “I actually think it will help a lot. Since there will be more options for airlines, the prices will go down,” said Evin Robinson, a Syracuse University economics student from Brooklyn.
Syracuse was awarded the grant under the 2010 Small Community Development Program. The program is under the federal Department of Transportation. To qualify for the grant, said Bill Mosby, a spokesman for the department, airports must be considered underserved by airline service and have high airfares. The government had $7 million to award in grants that went to 19 communities.
Syracuse will use the grant money to attract airlines with start-up costs, marketing and advertising, and credits for airport landing fees.
Airport service is already expanding. Low-cost airline JetBlue recently agreed to add a sixth daily flight out of Syracuse. The new flight will offer a second daily route to Orlando, Fla., starting Feb.19.
“Syracuse has embraced JetBlue, so we are very happy with the support we’ve received and thus we are expanding,”said Mateo Lleras, manager of corporate communications for JetBlue.
Syracuse will get the federal grant money before the end of December and will begin the expansion, said Hancock’s public information officer Reale.
(Crystal Barkley is a graduate student in broadcast and digital journalism .)
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