(The Center Square) — The Newport News-Williamsburg International Airport could serve the area much better if the Federal Aviation Administration were to expedite approval of needed “critical updates,” according to Virginia Congressmen Rob Wittman and Bobby Scott.
The congressmen penned a letter to the FAA on Friday asking them for swift action on anticipated updates to the airport’s 2024 Master Plan. Hampton Roads is already “a region rich in aviation assets,” according to the congressmen, with “10 civil airports, seven military-federal airports, several heliports, and over 60 aviation stakeholders” – but Patrick Henry Field has seen almost a ten-fold decrease in passenger numbers since 2012. The Peninsula Airport Commission’s plan seeks to reverse that trend.
“[Patrick Henry Field] is one of the pre-eminent aviation assets in the country, and certainly on the East Coast,” they wrote. “With 1,800 acres of land and capacity for modernization, it is a select location for strategically balancing commercial air service and supporting emerging aviation markets, unmanned flight and aerial systems and advanced air mobility research and development and manufacturing.”
The plan includes revising airfield geometry and maintaining the extension of Runway 7/25, extending Runway 7/25 to 10,000 feet to accommodate larger aircraft and longer-distance flights, and potentially decommissioning part of Runway 2/20 to enhance safety and efficiency.
“We strongly encourage the FAA to review and approve, in an expedited manner, the partial decommissioning and extension requests when the proposal is submitted by the [Peninsula Airport Commission],” the congressmen continued. “The FAA’s approval will assist PHF in increasing safety on the airfield and enabling the strategic recommendations of diversifying aviation resources and enterprise at PHF that will support existing commercial aviation and promote emerging aviation technologies and markets that will facilitate long-term growth at PHF.”
