Long Island MacArthur Airport – ISP

I’ll never understand why people use JFK or LGA when they don’t have to. As others have said, it’s local, small, laid back, short lines-​hardly a wait, and nice food & store choices for the small setting. I’ve always flown directly to Orlando from this airport on Southwest, never a complaint to speak of.:)

I know this airport is small but thats the beauty of it. Less lines and less chaos like LGA and JFK. We did the economy parking which was $ 14 per day and had a free shuttle to the main terminal. What more can u legit ask for? This place was so clean and the staff was so friendly. I wish i could always fly from here.

This airport is commonly referred to by the locals and frequent fliers as the «Country Club.» Unlike JFK and LGA, the atmosphere here is relaxed and slow. If you don’t arrive last minute to your flight, you will never feel rushed here. which is a pleasant alternative to the bigger airports.
As of now, there’s only 2 airlines that fly outta here. American & Southwest. They used to have direct flights to Las Vegas, but for some reason, that service stopped a few years ago. There is talks of expanding ISP into an international airport. but knowing how politics work, it’ll take another decade at least. lol

Small fast clean and easy. So much better than LGA or JFK.
Upsides:
Less crowded
Short lines
Starbucks and Mama Lombardi’s
Plenty of space
Lots of rental car options
Awesome fish tank by baggage claim
Downsides:
all the slow moving older folks.
no water bottle filling stations
not easy to connect to wifi

Great little airport, very easy to navigate and not nearly as busy as JFK. Only downside is that there are fewer airlines and flight times to choose from. This might be too far if you’re planning on staying on the west end of LI but if not, it’s the way to go.
It took us less than 30 minutes to check-​in, get thru security and find our gate for American Airlines.
The rental cars are conveniently located on the ground floor and not offsite so it makes it that much more efficient to pick-​up or drop-​off a car.
Definitely will consider flying here again.

New lows at Islip’s premier airport. The B gates are now closed and American customers have to wait by sitting on floor or stairs in an unheated portion of airport.
Just shut it down already.

Sometimes I will fly from this airport, instead of JFK or LGA, depending the availability and price of the flight to my destination.
It is a small airport so it is not as crowded as JFK or LGA. If you arrive at this airport and want to take a cab, you can go to the Village Taxi counter located near the baggage claim area. Village Taxi has fixed price from/​to ISP airport to/​from other places, and you can pay by either cash or credit card.
There is a Starbucks located near boarding gates, but usually it closes early.
There is free WiFi you can use, but with some limitations such as at most one hour at a time, limited time per month etc.

Lots of places change throughout the years but this airport has evolved and in a good way. Located in Ronkonkoma (my home town), I grew up thinking of MacArthur as a little rinky dink airport. Years later, I now realize just how fantastic this airport really is. Where else would a public airport feel like a private airport? Only in Suffolk County, thats where.
Owned by the Town of Islip and situated in a small town called Ronkonkoma, this public airport is only about fifty miles from the Hamptons and within minutes from the Ronkonkoma train station. So getting into the city is easy and convenient if you don’t feel like making the drive. Renting a car here is also super easy, in fact everything about MacArthur is easy and convenient. Easy in and easy out.
You know how you have to circle around some airports? How getting in and out can be a hassle? Not here! Southwest and US Airways are the only carriers that fly in and out of Islip. You simply drive through the entrance, check in your bags outside and enter the building. Proceed to security and go to your assigned gate. Security is tight, as it should be but it is quick.
When I was a little girl, we actually had to board the plane outside on the tarmac. I’m not kidding. Now, MacArthur is a modern airport but still has that small town feel. Even with the expansion and upgrades, this is still a very small airport. There is no way you can get lost or confused here. It feels like a private airport, even though it is not.
Starbucks is in the house for your caffeine fix and if you want to grab a beer stop in at Maggie O’Sheas. But really, I think you would be better off getting a light bite at Starbucks. Like any airport you will find the obligatory overpriced gift shop or two. Aside from the normal souvenirs (shirts, magnets, mugs etc), they have snacks and lots of them. I was pleasantly surprised that I was able to find quite a few protein bars, and happy that they had healthy options available in the snack department. I’m not saying that I didn’t buy a bag of M&M’s, I’m just saying they do have some solid less fattening options if you want a snack or two.
If your in South Florida and heading to Long Island, do yourself a favor and book a nonstop flight on Southwest and fly into Islip. It’s easy, cheap and convenient and you won’t have the hassles of flying into one of the larger NY airports.

Flew into this airport for business for the first time. I thought it was going to be a small airport but it was a little bigger than I thought. Definitely bigger than the airport in Syracuse for comparison. It’s a no frills airport to be sure but if you need to go to Suffolk county, it’s good to know there is an airport closer than JFK.

Best airport ever
So easy to navigate, clean and efficient. I’m so partial because it’s ten minutes from my house. Perfect for southwest flights. I even use it if in have to rent a car for road trips. Love this place

Perfect airport to get in and out of LI without having to join the crazy crowds at JFK or LGA. This was my first time flying out of ISP and for a local airport I had a much better experience than the one in Westchester. Its very clean and modern and for our 6:30pm flights there were hardly any people waiting at the security lines. I think I was at the gate within 10 – 15 minutes of stepping in the airport.
Its perfect if you’re flying to Florida like I was as most of Southwest’s direct flights here are to FL plus Baltimore (BWI). The seating at the gates are quite nice with individual chargers to let you charge up before boarding. A good decent selection of food options and we didn’t encounter any delays in take offs. Overall an excellent experience. If they added more flights to other cities on the east coast I definitely can see this becoming my primary airport.
Unfortunately parking isn’t free here but certainly more reasonable than the airports in the city. Also as others have mentioned if you take LIRR to Ronkonkoma station the cab ride is only $ 5 to and from the airport. LIRR actually sells taxi vouchers at their ticketing machines to make the process even easier. We ended up just parking at a closer train station and took the train over here.
Free wifi here if you have one of the major Internet Services like Optimum online or Comcast otherwise its free for an hour. Considering that there’s hardly any wait at the securities I would think arriving within an hour is plenty of time for this airport.

Small airport on Long Island. I wish it was closer to me I’d use it more often. Southwest flies to West Palm Beach sometimes for $ 100 each way which is great since there are two checked bags included.

I had a flight in/​out of ISP last month and had no problems at all. My flight came in about 2:30 pm on a Tuesday and I felt like we had deplaned in an abandoned airport. There wasn’t anybody anywhere! No bother — was able to get out to ground transportation in about 5 minutes from gate 21.
My flight home from here went well, too. I got to the airport about 1 hr 20 mins before my flight on US Air Express. It seems like most other reviewers fly on Southwest instead, and I can understand why. The Southwest area feels a bit more modern than the tiny US Air gates, and has all the eateries, stores, pictures/​art, etc. There are a bit more destinations you have to choose from by using Southwest. You have to pass through all that to get to the US Air gates, and once you’re there you have your choice of two amenities to enjoy: the bathroom and the vending machines. It’s definitely no frills and feels more like a bus station than an airport terminal. But the area was clean and relatively quiet. It seems like the only US Air flight all go to/​from PHL (maybe 4 per day?) so if they were having delays there you might be stuck for awhile with very little on site to help spend the time.
Overall my ISP experience was pretty good and served me well for my quick trip to LI. I’m sure I’ll return sometime, but don’t think I could say I’d choose it over LGA for going to NYC. At least yet. :)

This airport is called convenient to mid Suffolk and eastern Long Island and easier to fly into if you are going to spend your trip on Long Island and not The city.
Car rental return was super fast and easy to Hertz. Check in with southwest was very easy and quick. Your baggage is x rayed immediately when dropping off the luggage with the TSA.
Security was quick and easy, no big line which was surprising being Independence Day weekend.

I’ve flown out of this airport for family trips, trips with one other friend and individually. Each tme I’ve had a flawless check-​in/​check-​out process. No hassles traveling with Southwest out of MacArthur airport;very smooth flowing airport from my point of view.
The airport is extremely clean, clear organization and routines are put into place to ensure a smooth transition from outdoor check-​in to security and to your gate of departure. When returning back to the airport, the same organization is put into place when retrieving luggage and exiting. It is not a huge airport, which makes this airport easy to navigate. In addition, at other airports, planes usually wait in lines to take off, here there are little to no waitibg for take offdue to the small airport.
Definitely a great airport to use on Long Island!

The second time was a charm and so was the first. I made an appearance to this airport back in 2008 and I didn’t have a problem with it. The same goes for this past visit as well.
The airport is smaller than the main ones located in New York and it’s an easy 5 minute drive to Long Island from the airport. It was super convenient to grab a direct flight from West Palm Beach to Long Island through Southwest airlines.
The check-​in and security were both a smooth process and the car rental companies are located next to the baggage claim, which made it easy to get to our rental car before leaving the airport. It’s very clean and the layout is simple. There are a couple restaurants and bars to grab a quick bite to eat while waiting for your flight.
We’re already talking about going back since we had so much fun during our visit up there this past weekend. When we decide to go back, we’ll fly into Islip again and we don’t have to deal with the madness like how it goes on at JFK or LGA. Plus, you can always take a train into the city if you want to make a visit there.

Easy in and easy out, I have never had a problem with ISP.
If you are headed to Long Island, this is a nice alternative to LGA or JFK. Located only minutes from the LIE, you can get access to the East end or the city within minutes.
As with other smaller airports, their advantage is the the ability to get to your gate when departing or to your rental car with little difficulty. Most of the major rental car locations are now located in the baggage area, ever since they did the improvements years ago.
Clean, convenient and with a couple of restaurants and bars, it is a solid small airport.

If you need to fly to Miami from NYC, good luck paying for overweight baggage. Owning a home in Long Island, sure we get serviced by the highest paid police force in the nation but some of the Long Island Perks are Beaches, Malls and the Long Island MacArthur Airport.
Back in the day, Trump Airlines used to have a direct shuttle between LI & Washington DC. Then, they vanished?!? Art of the deal, big schmeal.
The airline who stuck around, through the good and bad times was Southwest Airlines.
I can take a direct flight from LI to Ft. Lauderdale any time of day and pack my bags with sand if I want to, no charge!
Jet Blue with their Terra Chips, get to steppin’. When you pull up to the Southwest terminal curbside in the summer, you feel like a jet setter. It’s so nice to pull up and be waiting for your plane to your next destination within a 10 minute timeframe.
This Airport has been with me for decades. Here are my best highlights:
My teenage buddy worked here after HS and put jetfuel (So he said) in his car while we made burnouts on Vets Highway (Yeah, I was that kid)
For years I was the father of the screaming babies going to Disneyworld (Sorry)
Vacations down south — No problem leaving out of Southwest
West bound Vacations — Putting the West in South West
I once caught a flight to my office in Chicago for $ 39 bucks!
Long Island MacArthur Airport, I love ya’s. Keep flying above the Long Island skies!

Easy in — easy out. whether traveling myself or dropping off/[icking up a friend, MacArthur is the best airport around. Security is fast, and I know that there is less volume, so I cant compare to LGA or JFK, but whenever I CAN Islip — i do !

Actually one of the better NY area airports. As I still have some family out there we have used this airport many times to fly back and forth to Florida.
Clean, simple, easy layout and design. On the smaller side but never seems too crowded and the staff is friendly and professional. Easy baggege claim and car rental area close to it. Enough places to grab a bite to eat and a drink.
Unfortunately only two airlines fly in and out of here — Southwest and US Airways Express to Philadelphia. Wish there were more with better destinations as we’d use it more often than being stuck with LGA or JFK.
Too bad it’s stuck out in east end Long Island suburban zombieland. Not really convenient if you live in or closer to the city.

If you can get somewhere on Southwest Airlines direct from Long Island MacArthur just do it. This airport is one of the easiest to get through for security, check in etc etc. It’s a small regional airport with only 2 airlines — Southwest (which flies in/​out in full size jets) and US Air, which I believe flies in smaller, commuter type planes (not my thing).
So far as food/​beverage selection — the side with Southwest has a Starbucks, an Irish Pub, a little food court with a bagel place, Italian place and A&W and there’s a Phillips Seafood (which isn’t always open). Theres a book store and a typical airport gift shop with Long Island gifts plus the usual snacks, waters, pillows, blankets, toiletries etc.
Downstairs as you go to baggage claim, they have just opened a Long Island Wine shop where you can buy yourself a great Long Island wine (many are good). And they just opened a bar/​restaurant in this area as well which is a great place to wait if you’re picking someone up.
VERY EASY parking, VERY EASY car rental, VERY EASY luggage retrieval. Do not go to LaGuardia or JFK if you can fly in/​out of here and are staying or living on Long Island

Had a business meeting on Long Island and flew into this airport, which was super convenient. Not a bad size, big enough for a Starbucks and a few full scale restaurants, and a couple of gift shops. No waiting to get through security, which is always an added bonus. I admit I wasn’t too crazy about the little propeller plane I flew in an out on though!