North Central West Virginia Airport
North Central West Virginia Airport is a public/military airport a mile northeast of Bridgeport and six miles east of Clarksburg, in Harrison County, West Virginia. It is owned and operated by the Benedum Airport Authority, serving Harrison and Marion County, and was formerly Benedum Airport and Harrison-Marion Regional Airport. The airport sees two airlines, with some passenger service subsidized by the Essential Air Service program. Federal Aviation Administration records say the airport had 36,917 passenger boardings (enplanements) in calendar year 2018, 25,105 in 2017 and 10,694 in 2010. The National Plan of Integrated  Airport Systems for 2011–2015 categorized it as a "primary commercial service" airport (more than 10,000 enplanements per year). History. The airport opened in 1935 as the Tri-County Airport, a joint effort of Harrison, Marion and Taylor County. It was a grass airstrip on leased land. In 1937 Marion and Taylor County withdrew from the project; in 1938 Harrison County purchased land to expand the airport. In 1944 the airport was renamed Benedum Airport after Michael L. Benedum. In the 1950s the airport had 3719-foot runway 5 and 2978-foot runway 16; around 1964 both were replaced by 5200 -ft runway 3 and 2500-ft runway 13. The first airline flights were Capital DC-3s in 1949; Lake Central replaced Capital at the end of 1960, and successor Allegheny's last Convair left about the end of 1977. The runway was extended to in 1999. The current airport authority was established in 1960. Enplanements for 2018 were 36,917 up from 25,105 the year before, a 47% increase. In August 2019, West Virginia governor Jim Justice came to the airport to announce a $20 million investment to be made at the airport: a new terminal, taxiways, and more space for  economic development. On June 25, 2021, officials broke ground on the site of the new terminal and 100-acre AeroTech business park with a planned completion of 2023. In March 2022, Skywest announced the end of service at the North Central West Virginia Airport, along with 28 other cities, due to a pilot shortage. The company stated the service would end within the next 90 days of the announcement. Days after the announcement, the Department of Transportation announced a hold on the termination of service until a replacement can be found, per Essential Air Service rules. As of March 20th , 2022, a replacement service has not been announced. Facilities. The airport covers 434 acres (176 ha) at an elevation of 1,224 feet (373 m). Its single runway, 3/21, is 7,800 by 150 feet (2,377 x 46 m) long. It has one helipad, 50 by 50 feet (15 x 15 m). In the year ending October 31, 2011, the airport had 24,600 aircraft operations, average 67 per day: 54% military, 35% general aviation, 10% air taxi, and <1% airline. 80 aircraft were then based at this airport: 61% single-engine, 20% multi-engine, 4% jet, and 15% military. The airport  is home to the Mid-Atlantic Aerospace Complex which hosts many leading aerospace companies such as Aurora Flight Sciences, Pratt & Whitney, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (formerly Bombardier), and Lockheed Martin. Fairmont State University operates its flight school from a facility on the east side of the runway. The school operates Cessna 172's and one Piper PA-23. Also located at the airport is the Army National Guard's Fixed Wing Army Aviation Training Site (FWAATS). The FWAATS trains Army aviators from all three components in the C-12 and C-26 aircraft.