BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. (WV News) — Aurora Flight Sciences now has plenty of additional space to spread its wings on the campus of North Central West Virginia Airport.
On Wednesday Gov. Jim Justice, U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., and a host of state and local officials celebrated the completion of a significant expansion project at the Boeing subsidiary’s Bridgeport facility that will allow the hiring of an additional 100 employees over the next five years.
“It’s just exciting to see how far we’ve come,” said Mike Caimona, Aurora Flight Sciences president and CEO. “We started as one building here in Bridgeport, grew to this campus and now we’re excited to add 50,000 square feet of advanced manufacturing here in Bridgeport.”
Founded in Virginia in 1989, Aurora has had a presence in Bridgeport for more than 25 years, Caimona said.
“This is an important facility for Aurora and for Boeing and for the aerospace industry more broadly,” he said. “We manufacture some parts of airplanes and aircraft that are critical for national defense. Outside of defense programs, we’re designing and building experimental airplanes and technology that has just never been built before.”
Justice, who has supported numerous economic development projects on the airport’s campus throughout his administration, said he was honored to be a “small, small part” of Aurora’s success.
“There’s more opportunity coming to West Virginia like you can’t imagine,” he said. “Aurora is increasing their employment by 50%, their footprint here. What they do for this nation is off the chart.”
Capito began her remarks by riffing on one of Justice’s favorite phrases.
“I thought you were going to steal my line, which is actually really his line, because he says, ‘West Virginia is on a rocket ship ride,’ and we’re right here where some of these things are manufactured,” she said.
The expansion project means more opportunities for skilled, high-paying employment in North Central West Virginia, Capito said.
“I think about the families that are going to be able to be working at Aurora, that are going to stay in West Virginia, that are going to wake up everyday when it’s a great day to be a Mountaineer and have that Mountaineer spirit,” she said.
Aurora’s project is the most recent buildout project by a longstanding airport tenant. In October 2022, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Regional Jets marked the completion of the first phase of a $19.1 million project that will ultimately see more than 100,000 square feet of operating space added.
A new, $25 million terminal building for the airport itself is currently under construction and is expected to be complete in early November.
“The expansion by Aurora really drives home the synergy that we have here at the airport,” said Deputy Airport Director Shawn Long. “Aurora is one of our close partners, and it’s great to see them expanding. This is just another step in the airport’s ongoing journey.”