Islip, NY – August 26, 2024 – Voting begins today for USA Today’s 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards for Best Small Airports. This is Long Island MacArthur Airport’s 4^th consecutive nomination.

“We’re proud to be in the running as one of the top small airports in the country,” said Airport Commissioner Shelley LaRose-Arken. “The nomination comes from an independent panel of industry experts who recognize our airport as a friendlier and easier to use alternative to the hectic hustle and bustle of mega airports,” she added.

USA Today’s criterion for a 10Best Small Airport nomination is fewer than 10 million total annual passengers. A total of 20 airports were nominated.

“We are competing against airports nearly 10 times our size, so this is a challenging endeavor,” said Town of Islip Supervisor Angie Carpenter. “We believe in Long Island’s commitment to and history of voting each day to help us rank highly for this popular nationwide honor. We thank the community in advance for its support, and want to let them know they can vote this year with one easy click on an ISP-specific link, https://10best.usatoday.com/qr/42135/,” she said.

10Best voting runs from noon EDT today through 11:59 am EDT September 23. 10Best winners will be announced on October 2. Supporters of Long Island MacArthur Airport from across the U.S. and beyond can cast one vote each day for their favorite small airport.

The airport was nominated and was voted as one of the 10Best Small Airports in 2020, 2021 and 2023. No contest was held in 2022.

“In addition to securing JetBlue as our fourth air carrier this year, we have many other success stories that we think show well on behalf of MacArthur Airport and all of Long Island in 2024,” Carpenter said. “Our airlines have added many new destinations this year. Breeze added Vero Beach, Sarasota, and Fort Myers as year-round destinations; Frontier is flying to Atlanta, Raleigh-Durham and five other nonstop destinations; and Southwest added nonstop service to Miami beginning in November. All this and more makes MacArthur Airport more desirable than ever,” she added.

Long Island MacArthur Airport has doubled the number of direct destinations available to travelers since 2011, and has also consistently upgraded the airport and airfield.

“In order to offer an excellent experience for our customers and to safely and efficiently serve our airlines and community, we’ve embarked on many construction improvement projects,” said Deputy Airport Commissioner Rob Schneider. “In addition to keeping our airport running smoothly and on-budget from an operational perspective, we are also marketing our facility in Suffolk and Nassau counties, and launched an improved website – FlyMacArthur.com – early in 2024,” he added.  

ABOUT LONG ISLAND MACARTHUR AIRPORT: MacArthur Airport is on Long Island approximately 50 miles from New York City. It is the closest airport to 2.8 million Long Island residents, and to world-renowned attractions including the famous Hamptons, Wine Country, lighthouses, Fire Island, excellent theatre, award-winning restaurants, and Gatsby-era mansions. The Town of Islip owns and operates the airport, served by Breeze Airways, Frontier Airlines, JetBlue and Southwest Airlines. Access to the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) makes getting around Nassau and Suffolk counties convenient. Train service from the Ronkonkoma / MacArthur Airport LIRR to New York City provides frequent transport. Long Island MacArthur Airport employs 6000 people directly and indirectly, with a $16M annual operating budget and an economic impact of $600M to the region and local economy.