The Roaring Eighties at Newark International Airport

The growth came from an unlikely location. The North Terminal, originally constructed in 1953, had been host to many airlines that flew piston aircraft along with a few of the early jets of the ’60s. However, by the early seventies, the terminal became fairly dormant, with the exception of a few charter carriers. All major carriers moved to newer modern Terminals A and B on the airport’s south side in 1973.

Then, in 1981, it all changed. A product of the Air Carrier Deregulation Act of 1978, PEOPLExpress Airlines was born, and their business model of low-cost fares to underserved East Coast cities took flight. They targeted the modest, unused North Terminal and turned it into a massive logistical base for their hub and spoke operation. Between 1981 and 1987, PEOPLExpress carried over 22 million passengers. Their route system grew to over 127 destinations worldwide.

I had the privilege of working there in the eighties. Operating at the North Terminal had its challenges. Ground-level boarding via ramp stairs was required as the concourses were only one story. In summer or winter, passengers had to endure the weather elements. However, for $19 to Buffalo, passengers were more than willing to brave the heat and snow to board one of PEOPLExpress’ second-hand 737s or 727s. The carrier introduced the 747 service to London, England, in 1983, adding even more capacity. A basic one-story Annex building was added in 1985 to accommodate the additional widebodies.

The diorama of this moment in time was handcrafted in 1:400 scale. It featured a typical PEOPLExpress operation around 1986. It took over five months to recreate these scenes, including over 200 individual pieces of equipment.

Simultaneously, work began on developing the land that would eventually be called Terminal C. This would be designated as the new PEOPLExpress Terminal of the future. Finally, they could move away from drafty, old, limiting North Terminal. However, by 1987, rising operating costs and fierce competition resulted in PEOPLExpress merging with Continental Airlines. In 1988, Continental moved into the new Terminal C with Continental as the anchor tenant. The North Terminal finally met its demise in the early ’90s.

Today, we can only dream of what once was the fastest-growing airline and terminal in aviation history.