CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The Yeager Airport Board began the process Wednesday of refinancing some bonds tied to passenger numbers.
The Passenger Facility Charge bonds are tied to a debt created from a couple of previous projects at Yeager including a taxiway extension.
The board has decided to refinance the debt because revenue from the Passenger Facility Charge is down due to fewer passengers, Yeager Airport Manager Terry Sayre said.
“Previous bond payments were tied to enplanements of substantially larger amount of passengers that generated more money,” Sayre said. “If you have fewer passengers it’s harder to make the same payment.”
Yeager has had fewer planes landing, thus fewer passengers, in the months following the 2015 hillside collapse at the end of the airport’s main runway. Tough economic conditions have also had an impact, Sayre said.
“We’re married to the West Virginia economy and if it’s not booming then we’re not booming,” he said. “Most of our travel is business travel.”
Sayre said despite the adjustments he remains optimistic the enplanements will increase in the months ahead. He said Spirit Airlines just began its summer flights that will continue to November this year and there’s the chance to attract additional flights with the completion of the end of the Runway 5 rebuild where the collapse occurred.
“We’re very optimistic. We think once we get the 5-end rebuilt that we’ll have an opportunity to get another low-cost carrier here and maybe get a couple of flights back that cancelled because of this shortened runway length,” he said.
The $23 million rebuild is underway. Sayre said contractors are getting ready to start a second shift. Work also continues on a $2 million taxiway reconstruction.
The last refinancing of the Passenger Facility Charge bonds came in 2011.