Aviation View | Volume 2, Issue 1

75 AVIATION VIEW VOLUME 2, ISSUE 1 There is currently a waiting list for aircraft to be stationed at the airport, which is the general trend among regional airports throughout North America. Currently, there are plans to expand the airport’s hangar capacity, but Holt points out a challenge associated with the region. He notes, “The difficulties surrounding construction in Southwest Virginia are primarily associated with site development costs. There are sites at the airport that are conducive for the development and construction of hangars. Designs and site evaluations are ongoing and include the engineering for some new box hangars. But when you talk about constructing anything in Southwest Virginia, the topography is not flat, which is what we love about the area, but is not advantageous when it comes to construction.” The Airport Authority operates as its own Fixed- Base Operator (FBO). This authority is split between four entities, Montgomery County, the Town of Blacksburg, the Town of Christiansburg, and Virginia Tech. FBO services at the airport include full-service refueling for Jet A and 100 low lead aircraft, and a tie-down transient ramp. V I RGINI A TECH MONTGOMERY EXECUT I VE A I RPORT Inside the terminal, the pilots have access to a lounge, which offers all the amenities such as ice and vending machines and coffee. There is also a rental car service (Enterprise Rental Car and a local car dealership) available at the terminal. Currently, the airport does not collaborate with the university for flight training, but there is a private flight instructor onsite, as well as a flight club. With every aspect of life being affected by COVID-19, the airport authority seized an opportunity to capitalize on the event. Holt recounts, “We were at the stage of extending the runway where we needed to decide to complete it in phases or close it down. The management at the airport took the opportunity during the decrease in traffic to close the runway for 90 days. This allowed the contractors to complete the work ahead of schedule.” Taking advantage of a difficult situation, the management team at VTMEA were able to minimize the number of calendar days worked on the runway expansion project. While 90 Keith Holt, Executive Director of VTMEA