Remember those old movies. The ones where celebrities stepped off their private jets. Welcome to Teterboro Airport. This is the oldest operating airport in the New York City area. Teterboro Airport sits in the boroughs of Teterboro. It also sits in Moonachie and Hasbrouck Heights. All are in Bergen County New Jersey.
Teterboro is only 12 miles from Midtown Manhattan. This makes it a popular choice for private and corporate aircraft. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey owns Teterboro. AFCO AvPORTS Management operates it. Teterboro Airport takes up almost all of Teterboro. It covers 827 acres. That is 3.35 square kilometers. 90 acres are for aircraft hangars and offices. 408 acres are for runways. 329 acres remain undeveloped.
Walter C. Teter acquired this property in 1917. North American Aviation operated a manufacturing plant here during World War I. After the war, Anthony Fokker based his operations here. He was a Dutch aircraft designer. The first flight from Teterboro was in 1919. In 1926, Colonial Air Transport delivered mail by air from Teterboro. It was the first private company to do so.
During World War II, the United States Army operated here. The Port Authority purchased Teterboro on April 1 1949. They bought it from Fred L. Wehran. They leased it to Pan American World Airways. Later Johnson Controls took over. In 2000, the Port Authority took full responsibility for Teterboro’s operation.
Since 1977, aircraft over 100,000 pounds cannot take off from Teterboro. This effectively bans commercial service. In 2003, Congressman Steve Rothman helped codify this ban. He cited excessive noise in surrounding residential areas.
Teterboro Airport has two asphalt runways. Runway 6-24 is 6013 feet long. That is 1833 meters. Runway 1-19 measures 7000 feet. That is 2100 meters.
In 2017, Teterboro saw 178369 aircraft operations. This averages 488 per day. General aviation accounted for 65.6%. Air taxi made up 34%. Military flights were 0.3%. Airlines were less than 1%. 121 aircraft were based here. 81% were jets. 10.7% were helicopters.
Teterboro is home to the Aviation Hall of Fame of New Jersey. It was founded in 1972. It honors those with outstanding aeronautical achievements in New Jersey. The museum displays historic air and space equipment. It also has artifacts and photographs. You can see fine art and model collections. The library holds over 4000 volumes. It also holds hundreds of aviation video tapes.
Teterboro Airport is accessible by New Jersey Transit bus routes. You can catch the 161 for regular service. Route 165 offers limited weekday service. Route 144 runs during peak weekday periods. The Teterboro station is the closest rail station. It is on NJ Transit’s Pascack Valley Line.
Teterboro has been featured in several movies and TV shows. These include Wolf The Sopranos and Uncharted. Jay-Z even coined the nickname clearport for Teterboro. He mentioned it in his song Excuse Me Miss. This refers to Teterboro having less traffic than other major airports in the New York area.
So the next time you see a celebrity jetting off. Remember they might just be using Teterboro Airport. It’s a place with a rich history. It remains a vital part of the New York metropolitan area.