General aviation airports play an increasingly important role in the NJTPA region. The region is home to one scheduled service airport (Newark-Liberty International Airport) and 24 general aviation airports. The term “general aviation” (GA) encompasses all aircraft operations other than scheduled airline or military flights. This includes both private and commercial flights ranging from single-engine propeller craft to corporate jets, helicopters, gliders, balloons and seaplanes.
GA airports serve local corporate businesses and the recreational flyers alike. Despite the halving of the number of New Jersey’s GA airports following World War II, the number of aircraft has remained relatively steady over the same period.
The state’s GA airports provide a base for business and recreational travel, emergency services, law enforcement, firefighting, agricultural use and flight training. Businesses in the manufacturing, transportation, technical service, finance and insurance sectors all rely on the region’s GA facilities. Area airports also play a key role in incident management, such as their use by first responders for staging and delivery of medical and relief supplies to cities in the event of a national or local emergency.
The NJTPA completed a study (PDF 41 MB) of the region’s GA airports in 2008, with the goal of supporting their continued operation through addressing roadway access issues. The report includes maps and descriptions of each airport along with recommendations for how wayfinding signs and vehicle access can be improved for the sites. (Note: Some information about the airports in the report may no longer be current. Updated information can be found at www.AirNav.com or the NJDOT Division of Aeronautics website.)
Further information on NJTPA’s aviation planning efforts can be obtained by contacting Ted Matthews at tmatthews@njtpa.org or Dave Dawson at ddawson@njtpa.org.
Map of North Jersey Airports
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