Over the years the suburban airport and its occasional prop-driven planes became a fixture in the shadow of Manhattan.

Montgomery Field, a suburban airport favored by private and charter pilots, lay quietly brooding upon the approaching daylight.

"Southwest has traditionally engaged in asymmetric warfare," said Professor Rust, referring to the approach of using secondary and suburban airports to serve major cities.

(Jackson's husband is a main proponent of the proposed Chicago south suburban airport in Peotone, Illinois).

NINETEEN new hotels have been built in this coastal city and near its suburban airport since 1996, adding more than 6,000 rooms.

A suburban airport out on Long Island.

The gains at these suburban airports came even as the weak economy led many airlines to cut service to midsize and small cities.

Governmental entities built urban and suburban airports, funded construction of highways to provide access to the airports, and provided air traffic control services.

Yet the passenger figure for 1993 showed a rise from 1992, in contrast with the other suburban airports and New York's three big ones.

The 1993 total for the three suburban airports was 1.4 million.