Kanawha County’s congressional delegation has asked U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to expedite a preliminary step leading to the replacement of the 70-year-old passenger terminal at West Virginia International Yeager Airport.
In a letter signed by Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., Buttigieg was urged to conduct a “swift review” of the airport’s request to proceed simultaneously with environmental reviews for a taxiway relocation project and the planned terminal replacement project.
The taxiway relocation project would allow the airport to meet modern design standards for separating runways from taxiways, and is needed to make the airport eligible for Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funding for a new passenger terminal.
“The overall project and the proposed terminal will address service gaps throughout rural West Virginia and will have an immense impact on the economic growth of the state,” Manchin and Capito said in their letter.
In a separate letter, U.S. Rep. Carol Miller, R-W.Va., echoed the sentiments of her Senate colleagues, adding the Charleston airport “serves as a hub for both business and tourism” and is a gateway to the nation’s newest national park.
Copies of the letters were distributed to members of the airport’s governing board during a meeting on Wednesday. Last August, the board authorized a $370,000 study to identify the best possible terminal building concept for serving the region’s air travel needs for the next 30 years.
In other developments at Wednesday’s meeting, the board approved a $13.9 million operating budget for the 2023 fiscal year that projects a 10% increase in revenues and a 2% increase in expenses. Under the plan, airport employees will receive a 5% lump sum cost-of-living adjustment in June, followed by a 4% cost-of-living increase during the new fiscal year.
The airport’s operating budget for the current fiscal year is $13.5 million.
During the 11 days in April that followed the opening of the airport’s new U.S. Customs and Border Protection building on April 19, a total of 17 international flights used the facility as a port of entry, it was announced during Wednesday’s meeting.