Airports in the U.S. East Coast escaped largely unscathed by high winds from Hurricane Irene this weekend, though flooding presented a problem at the metro New York City airfields, particularly Teterboro and Caldwell, N.J. Like TEB, Morristown and Newark Liberty International Airports were shut down at noon on Saturday, with the latter two restarting operations by Sunday evening.
Teterboro
The business aviation forum held on June 10 at Teterboro Airport was NBAA’s largest and most successful regional exhibition to date, according to the organizers. Some 1,900 people registered to attend the event, which showcased 90 exhibitors and more than 30 aircraft on the static display, including Embraer’s new Phenom 300 and a Beechjet fitted out with the interior for the Nextant 400Next.
According to the Teterboro Users Group (Tug), aircraft movements at Teterboro (N.J.) Airport in November came in at 12,834, a 3.8-percent year-over-year increase and the first rise in traffic noted at the field in more than 12 months. Total jet movements were 10,033, up 3.4 percent, while dispensed fuel rose 6.7 percent, to 3.1 million gallons.
A story in The Bergen Record, a Northern New Jersey newspaper, opened a floodgate of protests from residents of communities surrounding Teterboro Airport. It reported that the FAA had posted a notice in the Federal Register to the effect that it was calling into question the action of some airports banning aircraft above certain weights from landing at their facilities.
A comprehensive pilot training and briefing system is available online (www.airportflightcrewbriefing.com/Teterboro) to help pilots prepare for flights into and out of Teterboro Airport. The briefing was produced by NATA’s Safety 1st program and Avstar Media and funded by an FAA grant.
Business aviation tried to avoid getting caught in the crossfire of rhetoric at the July 16 House aviation subcommittee hearings on air-traffic congestion in the New York metropolitan area, specifically at La Guardia Airport (LGA). The field hearing took place at New York City’s World Trade Center, in front of a phalanx of network news cameras. Led by subcommittee chairman Rep.
Pilots flying out of New Jersey’s Teterboro Airport no longer have to suffer long waits to get their clearances. Teterboro is the first general aviation airport in the country to have a TDLS (tower datalink services) system, which speeds up clearance delivery and increases airport capacity.
Teterboro Airport (TEB) has adopted a training tool developed by Raleigh, N.C.-based Noverant to help pilots prepare for flights into and out of the busy northern New Jersey airport. Noverant’s system distributes and tracks training that is delivered electronically, and the company helped Teterboro Airport distribute materials for its noise-abatement compliance training in electronic format.
Indigo chairman and CEO Peter Pappas made it clear last month that actions by New Jersey Gov. James McGreevey to block service by Indigo to Teterboro Airport had no legal basis for justification. “We’re bringing a service into an area where it is very much needed, and he [McGreevey] and others are doing nothing more than using a non-issue as a platform to enhance their positions with their constituents,” said Pappas.
NBAA is scheduled to sponsor an ATC user dialogue at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on October 29. The event will start with a lunch at noon. Air traffic controllers and ATC supervisors from the Eastern Region, New York Center, Tracon and local towers will be present. It’s expected that the discussion will center around new security-based operational changes. For more information, contact Bob Lamond at NBAA.