Long Island MacArthur Airport ranked nation's best small airport by USA Today

Long Island MacArthur Airport has been named the country's best small airport in 2026 by USA Today, marking the first time the Islip facility has secured the overall top spot, according to an announcement from town officials.

USA Today has held the best small airport contest since at least 2020. This year, an “expert panel” nominated 20 airports, then readers voted for the top 10, according to the contest description on USA Today’s website for its Readers' Choice Awards. 

Islip Town’s airport has landed in the top 10 at least five times before, including taking second place last year, behind Michigan’s Gerald R. Ford International Airport, or GRR.

MacArthur — or ISP — edged out GRR this year, according to the top 10 list released by USA Today at noon Wednesday. The Michigan airport, just outside Grand Rapids, took second place in this year’s competition.

“This is an extraordinary moment for the Town of Islip,” Islip Supervisor Angie Carpenter said in a news release. “[The] airport is one of our community’s most important assets, and seeing it recognized as the best small airport in America is a tremendous source of pride.”

Islip’s airport has gradually climbed in the USA Today rankings over the past six years. It took sixth place in 2020 and fourth in 2021. There was no competition in 2022.

Islip dropped to the fifth spot in 2023 but won third place in 2024 before its runner-up designation in 2025.

During that same period, four airlines began operating out of MacArthur Airport: Breeze Airways in 2022, JetBlue in 2024, and both Avelo Airlines and Cape Air in 2025.

“Moving from sixth place to first over the course of this competition is a remarkable accomplishment,” airport commissioner Rob Schneider said in the town’s written announcement. “This recognition motivates us to keep raising the bar.”

Northwest Arkansas National Airport came in at No. 3 in the reader poll; Rhode Island T.F. Green International Airport was No. 4; and Alabama’s Huntsville International Airport was No. 5.

California’s Fresno Yosemite International Airport placed sixth, followed by El Paso International Airport, Colorado Springs Airport, upstate New York’s Frederick Douglass Greater Rochester International Airport, and Piedmont Triad International Airport in North Carolina.

Islip Councilman John Lorenzo, whose district includes the airport, described Islip’s 2026 ranking as “a win for everyone who believes in the value of having a strong hometown airport.”

“Earning the nation’s top spot puts Islip on the map in a powerful way, and we look forward to building on this achievement for years to come," Lorenzo said in the town’s news release.

By Sam Kmack

sam.kmack@newsday.com

Sam Kmack covers the Town of Islip for Newsday. He is a graduate of the University of Southern California and previously worked as a city watchdog reporter in the Phoenix metro area, as well as an investigative journalist at the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting.