Long Island MacArthur Airport , formerly known as Islip Airport, is a public airport located in Ronkonkoma, New York, within the Town of Islip in Suffolk County, on Long Island. Covering , the airport was established in 1942, activated in 1943, and began operating as a commercial airport in 1960. It has three runways and two helipads. FAA data effective September 4, 2025.
Owned and operated by the Town of Islip, MacArthur Airport serves Nassau and Suffolk counties as an alternative to John F. Kennedy and LaGuardia airports – both of which are located in Queens, a borough of New York City. Shuttle buses connect the airport to the Long Island Rail Road's Ronkonkoma station.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) designated the airport an Official Metro Airport in early 2011, meaning it is now grouped with LaGuardia, Kennedy, and Newark in travel and informational searches for New York airports, thus providing better exposure. MacArthur Airport does not share the congested airspace of the city-centric airports, and it has an exceptional record of on-time performance. In 2009, 83.6% of flights arrived on time and 85.6% of flights departed on time.
In 2016, it had 124,154 aircraft operations, an average of 340 per day; 84% general aviation; 7% scheduled airline; 6% air taxi and 2% military. In 2024, the airport served more than 1.36 million airline passengers. In July 2018, 247 aircraft were based at Islip: 141 single-engine, 30 multi-engine, 36 jets, 31 helicopters, and 9 military. The town-owned Islip Foreign Trade Zone is adjacent & directly connected to the airport.
History Early years In April 1942, the Town of Islip contracted with the federal government to build an airfield on town-owned land for military use.Suffolk County News Archive, April 3, 1942 Within months, the Civil Aeronautics Administration – the predecessor to today's Federal Aviation Administration – funded the construction of the airport and three paved runways through the federally-funded Development of Landing Areas for National Defense (DLAND) program. Originally named Islip Airport, at the suggestion of Charles H. Duryea – a local elected official, the airport was renamed MacArthur Airport after U.S. Army General Douglas MacArthur, whose dramatic escape from the Philippines during World War II had captured the attention of the world. The airport was officially activated in May 1943.
In 1944, Lockheed Aircraft Corporation built the first hangar at the airport. Five years later, the Town of Islip built the airport's first terminal building, in preparation for airline flights. Through the 1950s, the Sperry Corporation conducted aerospace research at the airport.
In 1947, the Town of Islip offered the airport to the Port of New York Authority (which is today the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey). The offer was rejected by the authority because of the airport's location outside of the port region.
Commercial service era In 1960, Allegheny Airlines was the first scheduled passenger airline at Islip, flying to Boston, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. The March 1961 Official Airline Guide lists five weekday Convair 440 departures: a nonstop to Washington National, one to Baltimore, and three flights direct to Boston via several stops. The General Douglas MacArthur Terminal was completed in 1966. In 1967 Mohawk Airlines began two Fairchild Hiller FH-227 flights a day, to Bridgeport and Albany and beyond with one flight continuing to Toronto. By 1969 Mohawk was flying BAC One-Elevens nonstop to Syracuse. In 1972 Mohawk had nonstops to Albany with direct service to Buffalo and Rochester. Mohawk would soon be merged into Allegheny Airlines.
In 1971, American Airlines began flying nonstop Boeing 727-100s to Chicago O'Hare Airport. By 1974 Allegheny had started BAC One-Elevens and McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30s nonstop to Albany and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, and direct jets to Burlington, Vermont, Cincinnati, and Detroit. Allegheny continued operating Convair 580s nonstop to Albany, Boston, Bridgeport, and Washington, D.C., in addition to direct Convair 580s to Buffalo and Rochester. Allegheny would be renamed USAir, which then became US Airways, with these respective airlines operating service into the airport for many years before US Airways was merged into American.
The Official Airline Guide (OAG) shows the following passenger jets to Long Island MacArthur nonstop from the following at various times from the late 1960s to the late 1990s, with types:
Allegheny Airlines: Albany, New Haven, Washington, D.C., National Airport – BAC One-Eleven, McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30 American: Chicago O'Hare Airport, Raleigh/Durham – Boeing 727-100, Boeing 727-200, Fokker 100, McDonnell Douglas MD-80 Braniff International Airlines: Orlando – Boeing 727-200 Carnival Air Lines: Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Orlando, Tampa, West Palm Beach – Boeing 737-400 Continental: Washington, D.C., Dulles International Airport – Boeing 737-300 Delta Express: Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Tampa – Boeing 737-200 Eastern Airlines: Atlanta, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Providence – Boeing 727-100, Boeing 727-200 Mohawk Airlines: Syracuse – BAC One-Eleven New York Air:http://www.departedflights.com, December 1, 1986, New York Air timetable Washington, D.C., Dulles International Airport - McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30 Northeastern International Airways: Boston, Fort Lauderdale, Hartford, Orlando, Philadelphia, St. Petersburg, West Palm Beach – Boeing 727-100, Boeing 727-200, Douglas DC-8 Spirit Airlines: Detroit, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Tampa, West Palm Beach – McDonnell Douglas MD-80, McDonnell Douglas MD-87 United: Chicago O'Hare Airport – Boeing 727-100, Boeing 727-200 USAir: Albany, Baltimore, Charlotte, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Washington, D.C., National Airport – Boeing 727-200, Boeing 737-200, Boeing 737-300, Boeing 737-400, BAC One-Eleven, Fokker F28, Fokker 100, McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30
A number of commuter and regional airlines served the airport from the late 1970s to the late 1990s, including Allegheny Commuter, Altair Airlines, Atlantic Coast Airlines operating as United Express, Business Express Airlines operating as Delta Connection, Continental Express, Empire Airlines (1976-1985), Mall Airways, Metro Airlines Northeast operating as Trans World Express, Mohawk Airlines (a later commuter air carrier version), NewAir and its predecessor New Haven Airways, Piedmont Regional Airlines operating on behalf of Piedmont Airlines (1948-1989), Pilgrim Airlines, Precision Airlines operating as Northwest Airlink, Ransome Airlines, Air Vermont and USAir Express and its successor US Airways Express.http://www.departedflights.com, Official Airline Guide (OAG) editions: November 15, 1979; April 1, 1981; February 15, 1985; December 15, 1989; October 1, 1991; April 2, 1995; June 1, 1999 According to the OAG, prop types operated by these smaller airlines to the airport included the ATR-42, Beechcraft 99, Beechcraft 1900C, BAe Jetstream 31, de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter, de Havilland Canada DHC-7 Dash 7, de Havilland Canada DHC-8 Dash 8, Dornier 228, Embraer EMB-110 Bandeirante, Nord 262, Piper Navajo, Saab 340, Short 330, Short 360 and Swearingen Metro.
In 1989, construction of two small, four-gate concourses connected to the existing terminal building commenced. The project was completed in 1990; the two concourses included the first jet bridges installed at the airport.
In 1994, Continental Express was operating ATR-42s nonstop between the airport and the Continental Airlines hub at Newark Airport.Feb. 1994 OAG Pocket Flight Guide, Long Island MacArthur flight schedules By 1999, Atlantic Southeast Airlines (ASA) flying as Delta Connection was operating Canadair CRJ-200s nonstop to the Delta Air Lines hub in Atlanta while Comair, also flying as Delta Connection, was operating Canadair CRJ-200s nonstop to Delta's hub in Cincinnati. Also in 1999, Continental Express was flying Embraer ERJ-145s nonstop to the Continental Airlines hub in Cleveland.http://www.departedflights.com, June 1, 1999, Official Airline Guide Southwest Airlines also arrived at Islip in 1999, with nonstop Boeing 737-700s to Baltimore, Chicago Midway Airport, Nashville, and Tampa.
In the early 2000s, Continental Express continued to serve the airport with nonstop regional jets to Cleveland while Continental Connection scheduled nonstop turboprops to Albany, New York; both services ended in 2005. Spirit Airlines scheduled flights to several Florida cities and Detroit, before moving to LaGuardia Airport in 2001; in May 2008 the airline resumed service to Fort Lauderdale from MacArthur, but dropped it shortly thereafter. Delta Express, which had nonstops to Orlando and Fort Lauderdale, dropped MacArthur Airport in 2003 after a decline in traffic. Delta Connection regional jet service to Atlanta flown by Atlantic Southeast Airlines (ASA) on behalf of Delta Air Lines ended on May 1, 2008, following a mid-April announcement that Delta and Northwest Airlines were planning to merge – a move that led to changes for the merged airline.
Following the September 11, 2001 attacks, MacArthur Airport saw a 25% decrease in passenger traffic. Passenger traffic later increased, but they decreased again in 2006. Charts depicting annual operations and passenger boardings are in Appendix C and D. In 2005 MacArthur Airport had 173,135 total operations; during this year 1,055,832 passenger were enplaned, 7.07% more than 2004. In 2006 MacArthur had 189,390 total operations with 1,138,061 passenger boardings. The year 2007 brought total operations at MacArthur down to 184,760 but passenger boardings increased to 1,167,515, MacArthur's highest boardings in the last 6 years. In 2008, total operations at MacArthur were 179,230 and passenger boardings were down to 1,048,768; in 2009, 159,736 total operations and 929,902 passenger boardings. From 2005 to 2009 almost every category of MacArthur's operations has declined: airline, military, air taxi, and general aviation. A figure was released in the 2010s citing a 46.4% decrease from 2007 to 2012, the most loss in any small hub airport. The figures rose back up as the decade progressed, but temporarily dipped down again in 2020 due to COVID-19. By 2023, the figures had again increased, with 1,278,000 passengers recorded that year.
In 2004, MacArthur Airport embarked on an expansion that included a new, Gensler-designed Southwest Airlines terminal built by the airline at a cost of $65million. Phase one of the expansion included four gates to be used by Southwest, as well as space for shops and restaurants. Phase two, completed in November 2006, added four more gates for a total of eight new gates. Prior to the expansion project, passengers had to pass back through the ticketing area of the airport to reach the baggage claim area. With the completion of Phase two, the new concourse provided a more convenient exit point to baggage claim, ground transportation, and the airport's roadway exit. Nevertheless, the location of the baggage claim area still requires most travelers using the airport's long-term parking lots to pass back through the ticketing area of the airport to reach their vehicles. The construction of the 2004 expansion caused a scandal when it was discovered that the new concourse was built without the needed approvals from New York State and with numerous violations.