discussing the possibility of foreign flights with a number of European carriers. She felt encouraged and hoped that by 2009 there could be regular passenger service between Stewart and some European destinations. In September 2010, it was announced that Apple Vacations would begin non-stop charter service to Cancún. Flights are operated by Allegiant Air. On August 20, 2013, Allegiant Air announced that it would be returning to Stewart with new flights to St. Petersburg/Clearwater after leaving the airport in 2007. Flights began on October 31, 2013. In May 2015, the Port Authority announced it was considering changing the airport's name to "New York International Airport at Stewart Field." Its stated rationale was to give the airport "global status," to ensure that its name appears higher in Internet searches done by travelers abroad, in keeping with the business model followed by many low-cost European airlines of flying into less busy airports further from the cities they serve in order to keep expenses down. Many local residents were cool to the idea, since the Stewart family name has a long history with the airport and the PA had promised it would never change the name when it took over. On December 5, 2016, General Manager Edmond Harrison announced that Norwegian Air Shuttle planned to set up a base at Stewart for flights to Europe using its Irish subsidiary. The first international flight departed for Edinburgh on June 15, 2017. On September 14, 2019, Norwegian Air Shuttle ended service. By 2020, American Eagle had reduced service to one daily flight to Philadelphia. This flight was suspended on October 7, 2020, was resumed on January 5, 2021, then ended on September 30, 2021. On September 30, 2021, about two years after the low cost long haul flights operated by Norwegian Air Shuttle ended, a new European carrier - Norse Atlantic Airways - announced it would operate flights from Europe to Stewart by the first quarter of 2022. Later, however, the airline announced that it would begin flights to JFK instead of Stewart. On June 9, 2022, Icelandic airline Play began a daily service to Keflavik with connections to other European destinations. Facilities New York Stewart International Airport covers 1,552 acres (628 ha) at an elevation of 491 feet (150 m) above mean sea level. It has two asphalt runways and one helipad. The east–west runway 9–27 is long by wide, but the landing threshold