Talk of a new terminal at the North Central West Virginia Airport is nothing new. Talk of having a new terminal on the same side of the runway as the existing terminal building is new.

 

On Wednesday, members of the Benedum Airport Authority – the airport’s governing body – heard from members Andy Lang, Randy Kerns and David Hinkle on a new proposal that drew unanimous support to be moved to the schematic stage. The trio, which have been tasked with investigating possibilities with a new terminal, met recently and said consideration should be given to the current KCI Aviation building.

 

“The idea is to look into the KCI building,” said Lang, the Bridgeport mayor on the building that will be vacated in the near future once the lease expires. “We’ll let the engineers take over from this point and give us some preliminary thoughts on costs and see what that path looks like. This is not definite.”

 

While it’s not definite, it’s definitely new to the mix. As for the price tag, that hasn’t been established. Lang said the goal set by the trio mentioned above is to keep it under $6 million.

 

“We would literally move everything involving commercial aviation to that building,” said Lang.

 

As for a timeline, if the project moves ahead Lang would like it to be ready by the summer of 2019. To speed that up, the Authority authorized airport engineer The Thrasher Group to begin looking at the building to determine the cost and other needs for the building.

 

“It’s 21,000 square feet. We’re looking at a blank slate to do something with,” said Hinkle.

 

The big thing with the building is that it would not only consolidate operations on the commercial side in one building, but it would have two gates that would allow two airlines to operate independent of one another.

 

What that move also means is that ticket counters for airline services such as Allegiant and United Express (Skywest), TSA, security, rental car services, baggage handling and the gates for the terminal would be situated in the new terminal. Staff of the NCWV Airport would also likely to the new building, Lang said.

 

“That benefits staff because they would be working right in the middle of everything,” said Lang.

 

As for the existing building, general aviation operations would be relocated to that structure. The general aviation services, or the fixed based operation (FBO), handles the private planes and charters.

 

“This building is probably a little too big for (the FBO), but we will look at what we could do with the second floor,” said Lang.

 

When asked by Authority President Ron Watson about funding, NCWV Airport Director Rick Rock said Airport Improvement Project (AIP) dollars could be utilized. The AIP funds are annual FAA dollars the airport receives when surpassing 10,000 passengers in a year. Rock said roughly $3 million is on hand to direct toward the project.

 

Lang and Hinkle both heaped praise on Kerns. Kerns, a long-time member of the authority with an extensive aviation background, was key with helping formulate the suggestion both said.

 

Editor's Note: Top photo shows Andy Lang, left, talking to Authority members as Randy Kerns looks on. Bottom photo is of Authority member David Hinkle addressing the same group Wednesday.