Schumer lobbies FedEx for New York airport

Schumer lobbies FedEx for New York airport U.S. Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., is urging Federal Express to consider using Plattsburgh International Airport in upstate New York as a new hub for processing and shipping transborder transactions.
   In a press release, Schumer suggested that the airport was “strategically positioned along the Canadian border and the greater Montreal area, making it an ideal site to integrate existing overland trucking services with new transborder air service.”
   Schumer also said that he had written a personal letter to Fred Smith, chief executive officer of FedEx, supporting a request from the Plattsburg Aeronautical Institute for donation of a used Boeing 727-200 jet to help train students at the school. He said FedEx has a long history of donating retired cargo planes to airports, educational institutions and local governments for use in training mechanics, cargo operators and other aeronautic professionals.
   A spokeswoman for FedEx said that the company has a small regional operation that employs 28 employees at the airport. Three small Cessna 208 feeder aircraft operate out of the airport for FedEx.