When Andy Lang stands in the backyard of his Bridgeport home and hears a jet taking off, he said it “sounds like growth” to his ears. Starting Wednesday and continuing into the foreseeable future, he’s going to hear a whole lot more of the “growth” he mentioned.

 

Lang was among the dozens of local officials, travelers, workers and even a band that was on hand for the initial flight of SkyWest Airline’s contracted United Express service through United Airlines. The initial trip to Chicago’s O’Hare Airport, which continues today, will see the first flight to Washington’s Dulles International Airport this morning.

“I’m tickled to death that we’ve got these flights going in and out,” said Lang, who was also a passenger on the charter flight.

 

Lang knows that this new service has the potential to be more than a benefit for Bridgeport. If used to full capacity, it could be a draw for all of Harrison County, North Central West Virginia and well beyond. The flights will take you from Bridgeport to two major hubs with connecting flights to hundreds of locations, which means you can get here from there and from here to there.

 

“This is extremely important for North Central West Virginia,” said Clarksburg Mayor Cathy Goings. “We’re leading the pack in economic development and this goes hand in hand with what doing throughout the county and surrounding counties.

 

“We hope this will assist with the (future opening) of the Robinson Grand Performing Arts Center (in Clarksburg) as we book headliners,” she continued. “Hopefully, people from surrounding states will fly into our airport to see those performances.”

 

To help with the kickoff of the first flight, officials at the NCWV Airport put on a performance of their own. Along with free food and drink for all in attendance, a “Blues Brothers Tribute Band” also performed for the crowd. One airport staffer said a United Airlines official was thrilled and stated they had never seen anything like it during a first-day event.

 

“We believe today is a historic day for this airport and this region’s economy and we wanted it to be memorable,” said Ron Watson, the president of the Benedum Airport Authority that oversees the operation of the NCWV Airport. “We feel that this is going to be a long-term partnership with SkyWest and United. Our purpose from this point forward is to market it correctly and put butts in seats.”

 

Watson also was on the initial flight. Several locals were on the 50-seat Canadair Regional Jet.

 

Additional photos from today’s event can be found in the gallery below.

 

Editor's Note: Top photo shows the ribbon-cutting ceremony, while United staff workers wait on a customer during Wednesday's celebration.