LINDEN, NJ — If you noticed more traffic congestion than usual heading into New York City last week, you weren’t mistaken. The 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly opened on Tuesday, Sept. 13, with high-level debate running from Tuesday, Sept. 22, through Monday, Sept. 26. With hundreds of heads of state and diplomats visiting the Big Apple, security was elevated, particularly when President Joseph Biden was in attendance. The area was turned into a no-fly zone as well, which made it very difficult for anyone trying to get into New York City. And this is where the Linden Airport comes into the picture.
“Whenever there is a major event like a presidential visit or the United Nations General Assembly, for security purposes, they restrict the airspace around Manhattan,” said Paul Dudley, owner of Linden Airport Management Corp., in an interview with Union County LocalSource on Friday, Sept. 23. “The problem is, all the airspace is restricted and you can’t get in or out. So we’ve made arrangements with the feds where Linden is the gateway. So all of the traffic that would go straight into Manhattan comes into Linden. We provide space and facilities for the (Transport Security Administration) to set up screenings, only they’re not only screening people, they’re screening helicopters. So they have dogs sniffing for drugs and bombs to check things out, and, if they are OK, they go on to Manhattan.”
Because of the General Assembly, the United Nations issued a notice to air missions that there would be temporary flight restrictions for certain hours of the day during the second half of September. According to the National Business Aviation Association, the temporary flight restrictions would be enforced daily from noon to 9 p.m. This affects only Manhattan heliports; unfortunately, that can cause problems for a lot of businesses and businesspeople.
“So we are the reason that aircraft that needs to get into Manhattan can continue on to Manhattan,” said Dudley. “Without Linden Airport, everything coming into Manhattan couldn’t get through. We are the western gateway, and the eastern gateway is Republic Airport in Long Island, out in Nassau County. They handle things coming from Massachusetts and Connecticut. If you’re coming from anywhere in Jersey or Pennsylvania, you’re coming through Linden. So we facilitate what otherwise would be impossible.”
Dudley feels strongly that sometimes you just have to do your part to keep things running as smoothly as possible.
“We don’t charge the government,” Dudley said. “We work with the Transportation Security Administration. Sometimes it runs up to five days. … It only ran two days because President Biden had to go to the funeral for Queen Elizabeth II on Monday and Tuesday. He came here Wednesday and Thursday.
“It’s the United Nation that every September has its General Assembly meeting and 500 heads of state and diplomats come into New York City, so it becomes a huge target,” he continued. “So they block two avenues over and 10 streets to the side because they don’t want anyone with a car bomb. And when you have a presidential visit … the protocol is, if the president is going to go down Second Avenue, they close First Avenue and Third Avenue as an escape route. It multiplies the effect, the chaos. And they block the side streets. They always have to have an escape route. That’s the protocol. So when he lands Air Force One at Kennedy Airport, the helicopters fly him to Wall Street, then the motorcade takes him to the United Nations.”
According to the NBAA, Farmingdale Republic Airport and Linden Airport are designated gateway airports by the Federal Aviation Administration, Transportation Security Administration and U.S. Secret Service to accommodate helicopters arriving to and departing from the West 30th Street Heliport, the Downtown Manhattan Heliport and the East 34th Street Heliport, and seaplanes arriving to and departing from New York Skyports Inc.
“They also close the airspace,” Dudley said. “They put flight restrictions to keep any hostile actors from being able to get too close. The problem is, hundreds of legitimate flights can’t go anywhere. So the feds and us came up with the solution about 15 years ago of designating Linden as the airport. It’s not just executives. It’s everything from organ transports to science to executives to charter people. All those normal flights would become implausible without us here.”
Special air traffic control procedures and routes to and from these airports are assigned prior to departure from a gateway airport. Intermediate stops are not authorized unless an emergency exists. Despite these restrictions, Dudley says he still tries to make the most out of what could be a bad situation.
“For me, it’s fun, because I get to see a lot of people that I haven’t seen for a while,” said Dudley. “It’s like Old Home Week. We put out a big sandwich and salad spread. While people have to get screened, we put something out to eat. Maybe you trained or worked or flew with these people, but you don’t see them anymore, except when this happens, so this week, you do see them.”
Dudley pointed out the significance of airports such as Linden and Teterboro that most people never take the time to consider.
“Linden and Teterboro are actually relievers for Newark (Liberty International) Airport,” Dudley said. “What it means is, it allows the system to rightsize the traffic. Airplanes that come into Linden do have the right to land in Newark, whether they are six people or 250 people. If you can get 10 or 15 percent of traffic to come to Linden and Teterboro, you free up that much more of Newark. We enable them to rightsize. We help relieve congestion in Newark.”
But what does that mean to the average person? Quite a lot, insists Dudley.
“Have you ever gone to the airport to pick up grandma? One of the reasons you’re not sitting there longer is because some of the traffic that would be out in front of you is coming to Linden.”
“We are like a fine watch,” said Dudley. “We use all the pieces, some very tiny, some bigger than others, but they all need to mesh to some degree to function. But all of those pieces need to be there to tell time. And if it’s done well, people won’t notice. Most people don’t know you’re doing your job well unless somebody does something wrong.”
Linden plays a vital role in keeping the regional wheel of commerce turning, even in the face of enormous security challenges,” he added.
Photos Courtesy of Paul Dudley