When you think of international air travel in Queens, JFK and LaGuardia instantly soar to mind. But there is a third, long-forgotten aviation hub hidden in plain sight—and after sitting completely abandoned and derelict for over four decades, it’s officially staging one of the biggest infrastructure comebacks in New York City history.
The aviation hub in question is the former Flushing Airport, an 80-acre municipal site tucked away in College Point. While it’s spent the last 42 years as an overgrown, swampy time capsule, a massive $3.2 billion mega-rebuild plan is officially locked in to bring this ghost airfield back to life.
The dynamic history of NYC’s first major airfield
Long before LaGuardia took over the borough’s airspace, Flushing Airport was the absolute epicenter of local aviation.
Originally opening back in 1927, the 80-acre site actually had a brief stint as the busiest airfield in all of New York City. It boasted four clay runways and served as a critical base for the Civil Air Patrol during World War II…