[conservative in nyc]

In most cases, the airports were there before the city grew up around them. And the runways were plenty long enough to handle the planes of the day when built. Airplanes have gotten bigger since then, and no other Midway-type airport can be built in this country - there needs to be a buffer zone at the end of the runway.

But closing older, close-in airports like Midway or LaGuardia would really inconvenience business travelers, since they'd have to go much further to get to the airport. The closest suitable location in the Chicagoland area is Peotone, which is 50 miles or so from the city. O'Hare is pretty much maxed out until the runways get realigned. And I have no idea how they'd ever replace LaGuardia - there's not enough big lots of land around New York City for 75 miles or so. Stewart Airport near Newburgh would be the only place I could think of. Expanding JFK or Newark wouldn't be an option (although JFK has some non-peak capacity).

[Rte66]

Thanks for making the point I wanted to make. Bottom line: I fly into and out of all 4 airports -- IAH, Hobby, Love, DFW -- and there is absolutely no comparison for me as to convenience. It's Hobby and Love for me, hands down. Add a minimum of 4-6 wasted hours of extreme hassles for IAH or DFW. Not enjoyable.