Aviation View | April 2021

120 AVIATION VIEW APRIL 2021 irport OR SUCCESS C reativity, Innovation, and Resilience –the three key factors that Nick Keller, CEO and Airport Director of Yeager Airport, highlights as the reason for their success. The Airport sits 300 feet above the scenic valleys of the Elk and Kanawha Rivers just three miles east of downtown Charleston, West Virginia. Covering 767 acres of land, it was originally opened in 1947 as the Kanawha Airport but renamed in 1985 for aviation legend Chuck Yeager, a native of nearby Lincoln County who piloted the world’s first supersonic flight in the Bell X-1. Today, Yeager Airport is owned by the Central West Virginia Regional Airport Authority and employs a dedicated team of 85 full-time and 30 part- time employees. Yeager Airport (CRW) is the largest commercial airport in the state of West Virginia, with worldwide service provided by American, Delta, Spirit, and United Airlines. Keller reports, “We are also a general aviation airport that sees a lot of traffic and last year we had over 100 different military squadrons come to the airport to fuel and train. We are still trying to catch up and build our infrastructure to maintain and promote growth – but even with COVID-19 we have seen a pretty good year.” Looking back to April 2020, the outlook was pretty bleak when passenger service almost came to a halt. Yeager Airport usually sees about 750 enplanements a day but near the beginning of the pandemic, they were down to 13. Instead AT A GLANCE YEAGER AIRPORT WHAT: A commercial, military, and general aviation airport WHERE: Three miles east of downtown Charlotte, West Virginia WEBSITE: www.yeagerairport.com