Oneida County Airport in Utica, NY has closed. The county airport will now be operated out of the former Griffiss Air Force Base in Rome, which closed as a military base in 1993. Griffiss is now a business and technology park. As part of the move, the airport has been refurbished. Empire Aero Center, which has been chosen as a maintenance partner for Jetblue, is located at Griffiss.
For the old Oneida County Airport, it is the end of a long era. In 1952, Robinson Airlines relocated from its hometown in Ithaca to Oneida County. Robinson changed its name to Mohawk Airlines, With the growth of the airline, Utica/Rome became a major hub in the region, offering service to many points in the Northeast. In 1972, Mohawk was bought out by Allegheny Airlines, which later changed its name to USAir. Allegheny moved the bulk of its operations to Pittsburgh.
In 1978, Empire Airlines was founded at Oneida County Airport, filling the void caused by Mohawk’s loss. In 1987, there were over 24 daily departures from the airport. That same year, Empire was acquired by Piedmont, which later merged with USAir. USAir downsized its operations in Utica, and discontinued its jet service, and the last flight was flown by CommutAir on June 30, 2002.
We mourn its loss, and hope that Griffiss will fill the gap admirably.