CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Passengers at West Virginia International Yeager Airport in Charleston will soon start to see construction come underway for a complete airport terminal building renovation and enhancement project.
CRW staff held a media day Monday where they gave members of the media a first-hand look at the plans they have in store to not only renovate the terminal building, but also plans they have to expand the apron at the airport as well as to build a new snow removal equipment facility.
Yeager Airport Director and CEO Dominque Ranieri told the media that it’s an exciting transitionary time for them.
“We are very excited to host an event today with our media partners to talk about some of the things that are going to be coming in the next months, six months, and even out to a year or two, projecting that for the community and get everyone really excited, as excited as we are,” said Ranieri.
As part of the Environmental Impact Statement the airport had announced they would be conducting over the course of a few years, a proposal for a large terminal project was included within that study.
However, Ranieri said that the original proposal for the project would have been extremely expensive and would have been many years in the making. After going back to the drawing board and discovering that they still had two years of availability for federal terminal funding that came out of Covid, the decision was made to downsize the project.
Now CRW is working with the Federal Aviation Administration on the concept of the newly-downsized terminal project that will still expand the building, enhance it and modernize its look, but will take less time and resources to achieve.
Ranieri said passengers will really benefit from the improvements they will be making to the terminal building.
“Everything we do here at CRW is with our passengers and our community in mind, so a lot of the improvements that we’re going to be focusing on in the terminal building is to enhance that passenger experience,” she said.
Ranieri said it will address many issues they have faced in bringing in larger aircraft and expanding aviation operations.
She said they are looking to build an addition off of the B gates, which are the two large main gates off of the terminal, as well as demolish the C gates.
In addition, Ranieri said they will also create a new TSA checkpoint area, because the current checkpoint is too narrow for the more modern equipment they are receiving. She said this will involve relocating the checkpoint to the right side of the ticket lobby.
Ranieri said the terminal project is also a chance to modernize the facility.
She said giving it a more modern look is a crucial aspect of their design plans as it will not only enhance the aesthetics of the building but improve its comfortability to passengers.
“Studies show that passengers, especially those that might be a little nervous about flying like big open spaces, more glass, more natural light, it’s just a more calming and more welcoming experience to an airport,” she said.
The timeline for construction on the terminal building is expected to be complete in about three years out from now.
Another major project underway at the airport is its General Aviation Apron Expansion.
This project entails paving along the green space at the private side of the airport where the Capitol Jet Center and Marshall University’s Bill Noe Flight School is located.
Ranieri said it will bring those at the flight school, the airport’s military partners and general aviation more aircraft parking and better accommodations.
“We’re concentrating on making infrastructure improvements to improve the experience for our pilots, our business travelers that are flying in private as well as our partners here at the Marshall University Bill Noe Flight School,” she said.
Also on the private aircraft side, CRW is planning to install Beta EVTOL, or Electric Vehicle Take Off and Landing chargers to accommodate electric aircrafts in the future.
While electric aircrafts have not been approved by the FAA yet, Ranieri said it’s only a matter of time. She said they want West Virginia to be ahead of the game and serve as a primary location for these types of aircraft.
She said construction on the EV charging stations is expected to start during the first part of next year.
Finally, the airport plans to build a new snow removal equipment facility that will replace their current maintenance building after Ranieri said their snow fleet has outgrown it. They will get construction underway on it in the spring of next year.
Ranieri said the community should be excited about the improvements, because she said she always hears the airport needs to bring more flights in, and these projects will help them achieve that.
“What it means is additional competition for our airlines and excitement on the airline side as well, so these changes like remodeling restrooms and adding gate areas actually encourages additional air service here at CRW,” said Ranieri.