Eye on the Past - Roanoke/Blacksburg Regional Airport
Channel: Blue Ridge Streaming from WBRA-TV - Roanoke VA
Date: 2021-07-26

Created from farmland, the Roanoke-Blacksburg Airport has had a long and colorful history.

Building an airport in Roanoke was a priority for local leaders for many years. After the first world war ended, they bought land six miles north of the city and intended to build a flight school, aircraft base, and a landing strip. The first facility had two dirt runways and a single hangar. In 1933, Ludington Airlines made a stop at Roanoke on their way from New York to Nashville. This trip was the first use of the facility.

American Airlines began its service at Roanoke airport in 1934 but soon moved to Lynchburg, due to the bad conditions of the airport. On 15 December 1941, the airport was named Woodrum Field after a congressional representative Clifton A. Woodrum. In 1950 the airport had three runways.

Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport never had an international flight, but in 2001, Airport Commission tried to change its name to Roanoke International Airport. Because of economic downtown airports was not able to take international flights, so the airport remained the same. There were five control towers at the airport, and the first was built in 1943. The present tower is 60 meters in height and is named after John Hinkle.