# Johnstown–Cambria County Airport

John Murtha Johnstown–Cambria County Airport (IATA: JST, ICAO: KJST, FAA LID: JST) is a civil-military airport 3 miles (4.8 km) northeast of Johnstown, in Richland Township, Cambria County, Pennsylvania. It is owned by Johnstown–Cambria County Airport Authority and is named after the late Congressman John Murtha. It sees one airline, subsidized by the Essential Air Service.
The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 categorized it as a non-primary commercial service airport (between 2,500 and 10,000 enplanements per year).
Johnstown–Cambria County Airport is home to several military units. The airport houses the Pennsylvania Army National Guard's 1-104th Attack Reconnaissance Battalion (Company's HHC, A, C, D, and E) and Det 1, Company C, 2-104 General Support Aviation Battalion (Air Ambulance). It also houses the 258th Air Traffic Control Squadron (258 ATCS) of the Pennsylvania Air National Guard, and Marine Wing Support Squadron 471 (MWSS-471), Detachment A of the 4th Marine Aircraft Wing (4th MAW) of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. The aerial military units fly helicopters rather than fixed-wing aircraft.
The airport is served by United Express CRJ-200 aircraft operated by SkyWest to Washington Dulles and Chicago O’Hare.

## History

The airport opened in 1948 as Johnstown Municipal Airport, Its first passenger airline flights were TWA DC-3s in 1948; All American Airways replaced TWA in 1949 and successor Allegheny Airlines was replaced by Allegheny Commuter in 1970. US Airways served the airport in the 1990s and 2000s with flights to Pittsburgh International Airport.
Traffic through the airport peaked in 2004 when US Airways flew 21,000 passengers through Johnstown. However, the recession led the weakened US Airways to drop service to Johnstown in 2009, and traffic dropped to near zero. The airport was the subject of controversy in the 2000s when reports showed Democratic Congressman John Murtha had steered $150 million in federal taxpayer dollars to the airport in the 2000s, despite decreasing traffic.
Since US Airways stopped service in 2009, Johnstown has been served by airlines using Essential Air Service funding to connect Johnstown to larger airports. The first was Colgan Air operating flights for United Airlines's United Express service to Washington-Dulles and Altoona. Colgan went bankrupt in 2012, so the EAS contract was picked up by Silver Airways, which flew from Johnstown to Dulles and DuBois. The city complained about Silver Airways's high prices and delays and requested that the EAS contract be awarded to Southern Airways Express. Southern's service began in November 2016 to Pittsburgh and Dulles (later switched to Baltimore-Washington). Southern's service was plagued by pilot and aircraft shortages, and the airport authority recommended the federal Department of Transportation award the contract to Boutique Air, which began service in to Pittsburgh and Baltimore-Washington in November 2018.
In 2020, the EAS contract was awarded to SkyWest Airlines to bring back jet service to Johnstown as United Express with flights to Chicago-O'Hare and Washington-Dulles. In 2022, SkyWest informed the U.S. Department of Transportation they would be leaving the Johnstown market, but when the DOT opened the contract for bids, SkyWest re-entered the competition along with three other carriers.

## Finances

It has only two scheduled flights and little other activity, but as of January 2016, the airport had received almost $200 million in federal subsidies. That funding has not been used to subsidize the facility's operations, including the terminal; it has instead been used to construct a concrete reinforced runway for military purposes and to build military installations near the airport. The airport is in the bottom 28% of all facilities receiving EAS funding. In 2004, an $8 million air traffic radar system was installed at the airport; it is operated by the Pennsylvania Air National Guard.

## Facilities

The airport covers 650 acres (263 ha) at an elevation of 2,284 feet (696 m). It has two asphalt runways: 15/33 is 7,004 by 150 feet (2,135 x 46 m) and 5/23 is 4,387 by 100 feet (1,337 x 30 m).
In the year ending December 31, 2022 the airport had 24,880 aircraft operations, average 68 per day: 68% general aviation, 25% military, and 7% airline. 49 aircraft were then based at the airport: 21 single-engine, 4 multi-engine, 4 jet, and 20 military.

## Airline and destinations

| Airlines | Destinations | Refs |
| United Express | Chicago–O'Hare, Washington–Dulles | |

## Statistics

Top domestic destinations at JST (January - December 2024) :
| Rank | City | Passengers |
| 1 | Washington-Dulles, Virginia | 9,420 |
| 2 | Chicago-O'Hare, Illinois | 8,270 |
Passenger boardings (enplanements) by year, as per the FAA :
| Year | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
| Enplanements | 7,956 | 8,457 | 7,956 | 6,986 | 6,186 | 4,856 | 4,338 | 4,193 | 3,594 | 4,381 | 6,309 | 3,149 | 8,519 | 7,763 | 14,000 | 17,690 |
| Change | 04.22% | 06.30% | 05.92% | 012.19% | 011.45% | 021.50% | 010.67% | 03.34% | 014.29% | 021.90% | 044.01% | 050.09% | 0170.53% | 08.87% | 083.56% | 024.14% |
| Airline | Colgan Air dba United Express | Colgan Air dba United Express | Colgan Air dba United Express | Silver Airways dba United Express | Silver Airways dba United Express | Silver Airways dba United Express | Silver Airways | Silver Airways | Southern Airways Express | Southern Airways Express | Boutique Air | Boutique Air | SkyWest Airlines dba United Express | SkyWest Airlines dba United Express | SkyWest Airlines dba United Express | SkyWest Airlines dba United Express |
| Destination(s) | Washington-Dulles | Altoona Washington-Dulles | Altoona Washington-Dulles | Altoona Washington-Dulles | Altoona Washington-Dulles | Altoona Washington-Dulles | DuBois Washington-Dulles | DuBois Washington-Dulles | Baltimore Pittsburgh | Baltimore Pittsburgh | Baltimore Pittsburgh | Baltimore Pittsburgh | Chicago O'Hare Washington-Dulles | Chicago O'Hare Washington-Dulles | Chicago O'Hare Washington-Dulles | Chicago O'Hare Washington-Dulles |

## Accidents and incidents

* On January 6, 1974, Commonwealth Commuter Flight 317 crashed on approach to Runway 33, killing 12 of 17 on board.