Word came last week that Frontier Airlines has ended its service out of New York Stewart International Airport. It didn’t last very long.

Service between Newburgh and Florida, which began in the waning days of the pandemic in November, 2021, ended on July 2.

That leaves Stewart with only two commercial carriers: Allegiant Air, with regular service to Florida and seasonal service to Myrtle Beach, and Play Airlines, with flights to Iceland. The latter replaced Norwegian Air, which at one time offered service to Ireland, Scotland and Norway. In addition, it has been reported that Atlantic Airways will begin seasonal service next month between Stewart and the Faroe Islands, Danish territory in the North Atlantic.

Consistency has been a problem for the airport since that very first commercial flight to Chicago more than three decades ago. At various times, passengers have been able to make connections to major US cities, including Philadelphia, Boston, Washington DC, Charlotte,Detroit and Atlanta. From there, you could fly anywhere. One could also make a quick trip to Edinburgh or Shannon, Ireland and connect with the rest of Europe.

What was rarely offered, it seems, were competitive prices for any extended period of time. Cheap airfare to Europe or sunnier destinations was usually offset by exorbitant tickets to Philly or Charlotte for the connecting flights. Hudson Valley residents, in the long run, still preferred the inconvenience of departing from JFK, LaGuardia or Newark Airports.

Inconsistency also describes the airport operations, which have bounced from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) to the New York State Department of Transportation (DOT) to a private company that opted out of a long-term lease. It is now in the hands of the Port Authority, whose investments in the upgrade of the terminal and in rebranding the facility have yet to bear fruit.

Most Hudson Valley residents still believe in the (air)Field of Dreams axiom: the people will come. The Port Authority needs to extract long-term commitments (maybe five years?) and a promise to hold the rates during that time. We know that the major metropolitan airports are far too congested and might actually welcome some relief, especially during the peak holiday travel times.

The people will surely come.