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STEWART AIRPORT – With the limited flights at Stewart Airport these days, the Port Authority is estimating 2,000 people will use the Mid-Hudson airport during Thanksgiving week.

Outbound traffic traditionally peaks on Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving with the Sunday after another of the busiest travel days of the year when just about everybody is coming back home.

Stewart officials would like the Newburgh airport to be brought back to the days when almost one million people per year came through its gates and they are hoping that once the economy straightens out and the airline industry regains confidence, additional airlines will begin to service the market, said Airport Manager Diannae Ehler.

“We’re talking to them all the time, but we actually have had more formal meetings where we give them presentations about where we see potential opportunities for specific carriers to add service or expand service at Stewart, and those have gone fairly well,” she said. “This is not a time for carriers to increase service, but if we keep with it, and keep dancing with them, when things get better, we are hoping for some additional service.

But, for now, the only airlines servicing Stewart are JetBlue, Delta, Northwest and US Airways.