By H. Wayne Berens
When Mercer County took control of the airport from the Navy in 1952, its condition was poor, due to the hasty construction of the naval airfield during WWII.
While the airport remained operational and under control of the Freeholders, much restructuring and demolition of obsolete buildings began. Among the projects were strengthening and lengthening the runways, replacing sewer, water, and plumbing lines, and replacing the major electrical cable which went under the primary runway at a cost of $150,000.
The project costs created a great debate over the usefulness and necessity of the airport. The Trenton Times reported serious problems with vandalism, since there was such little use of the field.
Many of these projects were not completed until the mid ’50s. The one remaining bright spot was the Naval Air Propulsion Laboratory which tested and conducted research on jet engines.
The Civil Aeronautics Board had approved passenger service for Allegheny Airlines in 1947, but the service—four flights daily from Mercer Airport to Boston and Washington National—did not start until 1955. In the days before the Airline Deregulation Act in 1980, a carrier was required to have a minimum of 5 passengers per flight.
Unable to maintain this number, Allegheny petitioned to leave Mercer Airport, but was prevented by Court Order in 1963. This service was eventually discontinued when a major fire destroyed the airport terminal and a large WWII hangar on April 16, 1969.
However, the fire did not destroy the airport. Rebuilding after the fire and replacing the wooden Naval hangars resulted in increased airport activity both in usage and tenants.
Over 30 tenants included Remmert-Werner (fixed base operator and replaced by Ronson Aviation), Ransome Airlines, Coastal Airlines, Harbourt Air Freight, and Modern Air Transport, along with several large corporations like US Steel, Dow Jones, Hess Fuel, and Johnson & Johnson. In addition, the New Jersey Air National Guard, NJ State Police, the Civil Air Patrol, and later Mercer County Community College with its flight training program, took up residence at Mercer Airport.
Improvements to the airport have included the construction of a 5 story control tower funded by a Federal grant in 1961, and the installation of an All Weather Instrument Landing System.
The primary runway was extended to 6,006 feet in 1963, making the airport able to accommodate jet passenger service. Allegheny Airlines was then able to offer a non-stop flight to Chicago, the longest non-stop flight for airline. However, with the passage of the Airline Deregulation Act, Allegheny left Mercer to fly new routes to sunny Florida.
Mercer Airport eventually found itself with a multitude of smaller commuter-type carriers flying to Boston, Washington, and many other new destinations. However, with limited financial resources, and deregulation’s opportunities to fly wherever they wanted without any government interference, most stayed only a few months.
The exception to this was United Airlines, which offered service to Chicago from 1983 through 1985. Currently Frontier Airlines is enjoying the most successful schedule and passenger load to date, flying to 12 destinations.
The passenger demand has required some restructuring of the terminal building and construction of new parking lots.
Today, Mercer County Airport, with its low cost, dependable flights, has become a very attractive business, with its growing number of businesses and employees, and a revenue stream from fees and rent to Mercer County, Ewing and Hopewell. Trenton-Mercer Airport, as it is officially known, has taken off and is flying high!
