Morristown Airport is in Morris County, New Jersey, United States, The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 called it a general aviation reliever airport.

History

In 1929, it was announced that Morristown, New Jersey would get an airport. The airport would sit on 280 acres of land on the Columbia Meadowlands which the town had acquired as part of the purchase of the Normandy & Whippany Water Company in 1931. Additional purchases brought the total tract size up to about 400 acres. The airport opened in the early 1930s, but due to the Great Depression, the activity at the field was relatively slow. In 1933, the Federal Government provided funds for a better airport. Midway through construction, the airport ran out of money.

During World War Two, Morristown served as a primary training center for the army. The Army became such an economic advantage to the airport that the airport made enough money to purchase and install hangars by the end of the War.

In 1969, Judge Joseph Stamler of New Jersey Superior Court issued a 1969 opinion in a case regarding noise from business jets operating at the airport, brought by residents and governments of surrounding municipalities, in which he set a curfew limiting takeoffs and landings during overnight hours. The judge said, "the giants of industry will see the wisdom of slowing the cross-country speed of their important executives, and will take a close, concerned look at the little people of this country" who were dealing with the impact of noise and ticket prices.

Like most of the United States at the time, the 1960-70s became the Jet Age at Morristown. For Morristown, this meant the expansion of the airport to accommodate jet aircraft. Morristown's airport expansion meant a significant extension to its main runway from 4000ft to 5998ft, a new, state-of-the-art control tower, and an instrument landing system (ILS). The airport became known as "the VIP stop."*

Statistics

In the year ending July 31, 2022, the airport had 110,939 aircraft operations, an average of 304 per day: 88% general aviation, 12% air taxi, <1% military and <1% airline. At that time, there were 119 aircraft based at this airport: 48 single-engine, 12 multi-engine, 57 jet and 2 helicopter.

Runways

Runway 5/23 is ,

Morristown Airport is home to multiple based jet charter operators available to the public. It has several flight schools on-site: American Flyers, ATP, Certified Flyers, Alpha Aviation and NOVA Aviation. Morristown Airport also has a customs facility.

See also

  • Transportation in New York City
  • List of airports in New Jersey

References

  • Morristown Airport, official website
  • Morristown Airport (MMU) at New Jersey DOT Airport Directory
  • Signature Aviation and Atlantic Aviation, the fixed-base operators (FBOs)
  • Taxi and Car Service at Morristown Airport, Transportation
  • Aerial image as of March 1991 from USGS The National Map
  • Construction of the Morristown Airport, from the Morristown and Morris Township Library