OGDENSBURG — Passengers deplaning at the Ogdensburg International Airport will no longer have to call ahead to find transportation out of the terminal.

After lamenting the lack of car rental options at the airport, the Ogdensburg Bridge and Port Authority’s board of directors got what it wanted. Countrywide Rental Cars will have vehicles stationed at the airport through a cooperative agreement with Cape Air and the authority that was approved at the OBPA’s Jan. 18 board meeting, said Wade A. Davis, the authority’s executive director.

“The new rental car service at the Ogdensburg airport is a very nice addition for the business community and the leisure traveler using the airport,” he said. “We have already received positive feedback from air travelers using the new service.”

Michelle Haynes, vice president of marketing for Cape Air, said the airline is pleased that an agreement has been reached.

“Anything that makes passengers’ travel more convenient and easier, we’ll always be in favor of that,” she said. “It is great that people know that there is a way to continue their travel after arriving in Ogdensburg.”

The new service makes Ogdensburg a more appealing gateway to the north country, she said.

“We want to make it as quick, easy and painless as possible to transition from plane to car,” said John Tardelli, general manager of Countrywide Rental Cars.

Mr. Tardelli is also a sales manager at Mahoney’s Auto Mall in Potsdam, which has been providing service to the airport.

“It is essentially the same service we’ve been providing, but they’re letting us leave cars there now,” he said.

Mr. Davis said a Cape Air official at the airport will act as the rental agent, eliminating the need for passengers to call ahead and arrange to be picked up at the airport.

“That is not an uncommon occurrence, especially in our smaller outlying airports,” said Ms. Haynes. “It is a benefit for us, too. Anything we can offer our passengers to improve their flying experience is going to be good for Cape Air.”

Cape Air is the only commercial carrier using the airport, providing three daily Essential Air Service flights to Albany.

Thousands of readers like you have made Northern New York Newspapers the number one ranked website* for local news and sports coverage in the north country.

You can continue on to this article in a few seconds, or you can visit one of our websites:

• Watertown Daily Times
• The Ogdensburg Journal
• Daily Courier-Observer