After the bombing of Pearl Harbor the federal government wished to build an airfield on Town-owned land for potential military purposes as the United States entered into World War II. Constructions of the airport complete in 1942, with three paved runways and a local official suggesting the airport be named after General Douglas MacArthur, General of the Army, and so it was. Lockheed Aircraft Corporation built the first hangar at the airport in 1944 and five years later the federal government returned control of the airport to the Town of Islip. Thusly, the Town built the airport’s first terminal in preparation for commercial services. In 1960, Allegheny Airlines was the first commercial airline that offered scheduled flights to Boston, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. out of MacArthur Airport and in 1966 the construction of the General Douglas MacArthur Terminal was completed and American Airlines began operating non-stop flights to Chicago. MacArthur has since become a major transportation hub with passenger traffic growing to approximately two million passengers a year through Southwest Airlines and US Airways Express, its two commercial carriers. Southwest Airlines offers non-stop service to several Florida cities including Tampa, Fort Lauderdale, and Orlando as well as hubs in Baltimore, Chicago and Las Vegas, offering connections through the Southwest system. US Express Airways offers short distance shuttle flights to a hub at Philadelphia Airport where passengers can make connections to 800 destinations worldwide.

MacArthur Airport Arrivals & Departures