Atlantic City International Airport is a shared civil-military airport northwest of central Atlantic City, New Jersey, the Pomona section of Galloway Township and in Hamilton Township. The airport is accessible via Exit 9 on the Atlantic City Expressway. The facility is operated by the South Jersey Transportation Authority (SJTA). Most of the land is owned by the Federal Aviation Administration and leased to the SJTA, while the SJTA owns the terminal building.
The facility also is a base for the New Jersey Air National Guard's 177th Fighter Wing operating the F-16C/D Fighting Falcon, and the United States Coast Guard's Coast Guard Air Station Atlantic City operating the Eurocopter HH-65 Dolphin. The airport property includes FAA's William J. Hughes Technical Center,
History
left|thumb|An early photo of the Atlantic City Airport Terminal
In 1942, Naval Air Station Atlantic City was built on of leased private land in Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey. Its purpose was to train various carrier air groups consisting of fighter, bomber and torpedo squadrons.
In August 1943, NAS Atlantic City changed its mission to strictly fighter training, consisting of low and high altitude gunnery tactics, field carrier landing practice (FCLP), carrier qualifications (CQ), bombing, formation tactics, fighter direction, night operations and an associated ground school curriculum. but even sooner than that, NAS Atlantic City was decommissioned in June 1958 and transferred to the Airways Modernization Board (AMB), later taken over by the FAA. In November 1958 the then-Federal Aviation Agency, now Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), took over operations of the AMB. The lease transferred to the FAA and was sold for $55,000. Atlantic City decided to retain 84 of the 4,312 acres. The FAA expanded the former U.S. Navy land parcel to about and established the National Aviation Facilities Experimental Center research facility that eventually became the William J. Hughes Technical Center. The South Jersey Transportation Authority (SJTA) initially leased portions of the airport from the FAA and now serves as the airport owner and operator of the facility. ACY has also had US Airways jet service to Pittsburgh as well as US Airways Express turboprops to Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, and Continental Express turboprops and regional jets to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. This regional jet service for Continental Airlines was operated by ExpressJet Airlines with Embraer ERJs.
People Express Airlines (PeopleExpress) provided Boeing 737 service from / to EWR (Newark Airport), in the 1980's.
Delta Air Lines also had flights to Boston on Delta Connection regional jets operated by Atlantic Coast Airlines. In addition, Delta Connection via its partner Comair operated flights to Cincinnati and Orlando, which ended on May 1, 2007. WestJet had Boeing 737 jetliner flights from ACY to Toronto, but ended them on May 9, 2010, leaving the airport with no international service. On April 1, 2014, United Airlines started service from Atlantic City to Chicago–O'Hare and Houston, but the service was discontinued on December 3, 2014. Air Canada had seasonal flights to Toronto in the Summer of 2015, but has decided not to return in the Summer of 2016, once again leaving the airport without international scheduled flights.
Work began in August 2011 upgrading the passenger screening facilities at airport. The checkpoint expansion saw three new screening lanes be added, as well as improvements to the airport's infrastructure. The expansion also includes development of a Federal Inspection Services station. Under this project, additional passenger loading bridges and gates were added, technological upgrades & baggage claim improvements were made, additional retail space was added, and improved check-in capabilities were made. The new, building includes emergency vehicle bays, administrative & staff living areas, and enhanced equipment & apparatus facilities – in addition to space for training requirements. This airside-to-airside service, which is solely for screened passengers who booked a seat on the route, is operated by American's bus service partner, Landline, on the airline's behalf. However, the start of the service was delayed.
In April 2024, Spirit Airlines announced that it would be closing its crew base at the Atlantic City Airport.
In August 2025, Allegiant Air announced it would begin operations out of Atlantic City Airport in December 2025. It added four new routes to Florida, including Fort Lauderdale, St. Petersburg, Sanford, and Punta Gorda.
In May 2026, Breeze Airways announced its expansion into the airport, taking over multiple routes previously served by Spirit Airlines, which had ended its operations at the start of that month, as well as more directly competing against Allegiant's new roundtrip routes from the area to the Carolinas and Florida that had been launched the previous year.
Facilities
Atlantic City International Airport covers at an elevation of 75 feet (23 m) above mean sea level. It has two runways and one helipad: 4/22 is 6,145 by 150 feet (1,873 x 46 m) asphalt/concrete; 13/31 is 10,001 by 150 feet (3,048 x 46 m) asphalt; Helipad H1 is 102 x 102 feet (31 x 31 m) asphalt.
Terminal
alt=Atlantic City International Airport entrance.|thumb|The entrance to the passenger terminal at Atlantic City International Airport.
Atlantic City International Airport has one terminal. Several charter carriers operate out of the terminal, along with scheduled passenger flights. The terminal has a small layout, making it an alternative to Philadelphia International Airport or Newark Liberty International Airport.
Passengers enter the terminal on the lower level, which has the check-in counters, a restaurant and gift shop, and the TSA security checkpoint. The baggage claim area is on this level, with three carousels. After the security checkpoint, stairs and escalators lead to the departures level and its ten gates, along with airside shops and restaurants.
Atlantic City Air National Guard Base
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Since 1958, the airport has been home to Atlantic City Air National Guard Base and the 177th Fighter Wing (177 FW), an Air Combat Command (ACC)-gained unit of the New Jersey Air National Guard, operating the F-16C/D Fighting Falcon. Since October 1998, the wing has had an active involvement in Operation Noble Eagle, Operation Southern Watch, Operation Northern Watch, Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. As an Air National Guard unit, the 177 FW has dual federal (USAF augmentation) and state (support to New Jersey) missions.
CGAS Atlantic City consists of 10 HH-65C Dolphin helicopters and it maintains two Dolphin helicopters in 30-minute response status. Approximately, 250 aviation personnel comprise the facility's full-time staff, augmented by additional part-time Coast Guard Reserve and Coast Guard Auxiliary personnel. Myrtle Beach, Orlando/Sanford, Fort Myers (begins October 22, 2026), Myrtle Beach (begins October 22, 2026), West Palm Beach (begins December 17, 2026)
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American Airlines offers a connecting bus to and from Philadelphia International Airport from Atlantic City International Airport. The service is ticketed & operated as an airline flight but utilizes buses, given Philadelphia's close proximity to Atlantic City and available connections as a major hub for American Airlines. This airside-to-airside service, which is solely for screened passengers who booked a seat on the route, is operated by American's bus service partner, Landline, on the airline's behalf.
Statistics
Top destinations
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size: 95%" width= align=
|+ Busiest domestic routes <br/>(February 2025 – January 2026)
! Rank
! City
! Passengers
! Carrier(s)
|-
| 1
| Orlando–International, Florida
| 107,380
| Spirit
|-
| 2
| Fort Lauderdale, Florida
| 66,560
| Allegiant, Spirit
|-
| 3
| Fort Myers, Florida
| 47,680
| Spirit
|-
| 4
| West Palm Beach, Florida
| 46,710
| Spirit
|-
| 5
| Tampa, Florida
| 43,320
| Spirit
|-
| 6
| Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
| 23,210
| Spirit
|-
| 7
| Miami, Florida
| 1,500
| Spirit
|-
| 8
| Orlando–Sanford, Florida
| 1,390
| Allegiant
|-
|}
Annual traffic
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Annual Passenger Traffic at ACY 2012-Present
! Year
! Passengers
! % Change
|-
|2012||1,385,878||—
|-
|2013||1,132,898||18.3%
|-
|2014||1,211,667||7.0%
|-
|2015||1,200,293||0.9%
|-
|2016||1,207,273||0.6%
|-
|2017||1,102,092||8.7%
|-
|2018||1,164,937||5.7%
|-
|2019||1,134,745||2.6%
|-
|2020||450,636||60.3%
|-
|2021||867,039||92.4%
|-
|2022||955,947||10.3%
|-
|2023||926,112||3.1%
|-
|2024||1,042,253||12.5%
|-
|2025||845,108||18.9%
|}
Future
NJ Transit rail station
A bill has been submitted in the New Jersey legislature that would provide for a rail station at the airport that would become a part of NJ Transit's Atlantic City Line. No specific funding or budget has been drawn up, but estimates for the project are in the range of $25 million to $30 million.
NextGen Technical Park
A technology park housing Next Generation Air Transportation System is currently under construction on the airport property on a lot near Amelia Earhart Boulevard and Delilah Road. The seven-building complex is set to contain of offices, laboratories and research facilities. The park will focus on developing new computer equipment that will transform the country's air-traffic control program into a satellite-based system. The first of the buildings was originally set to open in April 2012 and will contain a lab for the FAA as well as research space for other tenants.
A second office park, the NextGen International Aviation Center for Excellence, is set to be built in nearby Hamilton Township, adjacent to the Hamilton Mall and Atlantic City Race Course, the latter of which is set to be renovated. A new transportation center at the site would transfer workers between the two complexes.
The FAA earmarked the for the technical park's development in 2021. The project was delayed due to a lack of financing. The 2018 Statewide Transportation Improvement Program included the direct connector, with an estimated cost of $60 million.
Port Authority takeover
In February 2011, the New Jersey Legislature authorized the Atlantic City Tourism District, which would promote continued development of tourism in the region. A provision included the potential transfer of operations for ACY to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie in March 2013 ordered a takeover of the airport's operations by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. However, the deal never went through.
In 2019, the Atlantic County freeholders passed a resolution to have the Port Authority conduct a feasibility study to take over operations of the airport due to the airport's struggling financials.