Henrico Times

Nov 22, 2024

Congressman Rob Wittman and Congressman Bobby Scott have urged the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to expedite the approval process for significant updates at Newport News-Williamsburg International Airport. This request is part of a bipartisan initiative aimed at increasing passenger traffic at Patrick Henry Field (PHF).

"Hampton Roads as a region is rich in aviation assets with 10 civil airports, seven military-federal airports, several heliports, and over 60 aviation stakeholders," said Reps. Wittman and Scott. "Among those assets, PHF is one of the pre-eminent aviation assets in the country, and certainly on the East Coast. 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 congressmen emphasized their support for the Peninsula Airport Commission's proposal by stating: "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 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."

The proposed modernization plan includes revising airfield geometry while maintaining Runway 7/25's extension. There are also considerations to partially decommission Runway 2/20 to improve safety. Additionally, extending Runway 7/25 to accommodate larger aircraft with longer-distance flights is part of this vision.

Passenger numbers at PHF have significantly declined from over one million in 2012 to just 137,000 last fiscal year. Currently, only one commercial carrier operates there. To tackle these challenges, the Peninsula Airport Commission's Master Plan for 2024 aims to incorporate advanced technologies such as unmanned systems, electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircrafts along with aerospace manufacturing.