The Montauk Airport will remain open as an airport, its new director and general manager, Neil Blainey, said this week, and there are no plans to change that status.
The airport sold earlier this month, but so far the identity of the new owner has been kept under wraps. Mr. Blainey declined to name the owner, as did Perry (Chip) Duryea, one of its previous owners, and Leonard Ackerman, an attorney involved in the transaction. “The new ownership of the airport will be disclosed in due course,” he said in an email.
Mr. Blainey said that he is a longtime pilot, a former pilot for the City of New York Police Department, and a former director of operations for Long Island Airlines and New York Helicopter Charter. “I bring a lifelong passion for flying to the Montauk Airport facility,” he told The Star.
“We are delighted to have secured an investment in this important local facility and look forward to building on the long history of Montauk Airport,” he added, “as we remain committed to servicing the needs of the community and region.”
The small airport near the end of East Lake Drive has been under scrutiny since the East Hampton Town Board signaled its intention to enact restrictions at East Hampton Airport, following a one-day closure that was to have taken place last month and would have seen the airport transition from a public facility to a private one. Many residents of the hamlet worry that restrictions in East Hampton would divert air traffic to other area airports and helipads, including Montauk Airport.
Three entities, including Blade Air Mobility, which allows users of its app to book seats on scheduled helicopter and airplane flights, sued to prevent the planned privatization of East Hampton Airport and won a temporary restraining order in New York State Supreme Court on May 16. That order remains in place and the town’s airport consultants are now looking into what it would take to permanently close East Hampton Airport.
As to what impact that could have on Montauk Airport, Mr. Blainey said, “Montauk Airport’s runway is too short for any private jets and the ramp area is very limited.” Nonetheless, he said, “I do anticipate an increase in helicopter traffic if East Hampton closes. We are looking at this very closely.”
“Blade does fly into Montauk,” he said, “and we now have an understanding with Blade that they give us their daily flight schedule the night before or early morning so Montauk can plan and staff accordingly.”
“We put in a voluntary curfew from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.,” Mr. Blainey added.
Meanwhile, a statement from Town Hall on Tuesday complained that the town’s “extensive negotiations to acquire the Montauk Airport” did not come to fruition.
“Several members of the community . . . asked why the town did not take steps to acquire the Montauk Airport in order to safeguard East Hampton residents from increased noise and environmental impacts from aircraft in the town,” the statement said. “The short answer is the town did, in fact,” attempt to acquire the airport, starting in 2019 and including completion of three appraisals for the property.
The price was not an impediment, the statement continued. Rather, “the insurmountable obstacle for the town was the sellers’ preferred structure for the transaction, which was not legally possible for the town to conclude due to its status as a public entity.” Creative solutions were explored “including alternative deal structures to address the sellers’ concerns, such as a traditional land purchase or a purchase through the use of a well-intentioned private intermediary to acquire the airport assets through the sellers’ preferred deal structure, followed by a concurrent sale of the airport land to the town.”
“The town looks forward to working with the new ownership of the Montauk Airport to ensure that the community’s concerns regarding noise and environmental impacts from aircraft are addressed to the fullest extent possible.”
