Syracuse Hancock International Airport

The Syracuse City Airport at Amboy was opened in 1928 in the town of Camillus, and it started by handling airmail (this after the need was apparent in 1927 to then-mayor Charles Hanna). In WWII, the airport became a flight training center for the Army Air Forces, but it became evident that the airport facilities were not large enough, so the Army Air Forces opened Syracuse Army Air Base in Mattydale and promptly leased the new airport back to the city at the culmination of the war, replacing the old airport at Amboy. On September 17th, 1949, the airport was opened to the public as the Clarence E. Hancock Airport, with three concrete runways, all of which were 5,500 by 300 feet. Runway 10/28 was extended to 6,863 feet in 1956. American, Buffalo, Colonial, and Robinson Airlines were the first airlines to service the airport. By 1957, Eastern and Mohawk (later known as Allegheny Airlines) had also begun service. In 1958 Runway 10/28 was again extended to 8,000 feet (and yet again in 1960, to 9,005 feet). Runway 14/34 was lengthened in the 1960s to 6,000 feet, again to 6,480 feet (time unknown), and finally to its current 7,500 feet around 1980. The third runway, 6/24, was shortened to 3,261 feet (to make way for the new terminal) and was used mainly for general aviation in the 1970s before being abandoned. In 1962, the new airport terminal was opened, allowing access from Interstate 81. In 1970, the International Civil Airport Organization awarded the international airport status, which allowed it to become a point of entry for people flying from overseas and for local goods to be shipped directly abroad.
 

The airport is located five miles northeast of downtown Syracuse and 85 miles south of Watertown. 

• Clarence E. Hancock, for whom the airport was named, was a Congressman serving the 36th District (which included the city of Syracuse) from 1927-1946. 
• Current works include the installation of two flight boarding bridges, a new lounge in the north concourse, and more concessions. 
• Part of the 2018 expansion included the addition of the Regional Aviation History Museum, which highlights the history of aviation both regionally and globally. 
• On September 27, 1986, a British Airways Concorde made a scheduled landing at the airport.