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- Private jets flooded a small Long Island airport for the Ryder Cup this weekend.
- The Ryder Cup is a biennial golf tournament that pits the top US golfers against the top Europeans.
- At the last Ryder Cup in Rome, there was a similar surge in private jet arrivals.
The private jets are circling Long Island as the wealthy pile in for the Ryder Cup this weekend.
More than 200 planes had touched down at Farmingdale’s Republic Airport by late afternoon on Saturday. Many more arrived on Friday as well.
Many of the planes have tail numbers associated with jet charter companies like NetJets and Flexjet. Some flew in from tony locations like Palm Beach or even East Hampton, which is just 70 miles away.
While the airport caters to private flights, the Ryder Cup has drawn more traffic than usual. “It’s been hectic, very hectic,” an airport operations coordinator told Business Insider.
Wingx, an aviation data firm, said there could be as many as 3,000 private flights landing in the greater New York area for the golf tournament, with both corporate sponsors and VIP guests on board.
In 2023, when the Ryder Cup was held in Rome, airports in the Italian city recorded about 2.5 times their normal traffic levels, WingX said.
The biennial three-day golf tournament, first held in 1927, pits the best golfers from the United States against those from Europe. For the 2025 tournament, pre-sale tickets went live almost a year ago, starting at $749.51 for entrance on Friday.
Like the US Open, which took place in New York City earlier this month, the Ryder Cup attracts the wealthy and the famous. It also has expensive cocktails and a segment of unruly fans that fail to comply with the sport’s traditionally staid manner.
This year’s event has drawn a slew of influential guests, including President Donald Trump, a famously prolific golfer. Trump also attended the US Open.