MidHudsonNews [dot] com is reporting the airline industry continues to suffer as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. At New York Stewart International Airport, only the air carrier Allegiant continues to operate, but at a lesser frequency. Jet Blue, Delta and American Airlines have all suspended their flights from the Newburgh facility. Airport business director Michael Torelli told the Stewart Airport Commission during a conference call July 28, the passenger count in May was down 94.2 percent from May 2019, making it the worst month since the pandemic took hold. Passenger count fell by 64 percent in March and by 89 percent in April. The one exception to the trend is cargo, Torelli said. “With the purchasing power of Americans and buying stuff from home and having it shipped, we are seeing a lot of that, not only in the air, but obviously on the ground as well,” he said. Kalitta Air carries tons of US Mail to the West Coast from Stewart on a weekly basis. The volume of freight, including the mail transported through Stewart, increased from March through May. Torelli said Jet Blue may come back in September, American may return in August and as for Delta, no date has been suggested “and that is if they return,” he said. Read the full story at MidHudsonNews [dot] com.