Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport is an airport located 9 mi (14 km) northwest of downtown
Newport News, VirginiaNewport News is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia. It is at the southeastern end of the Virginia Peninsula, on the north shore of the James River extending southeast from Skiffe's Creek along many miles of waterfront to the river's mouth at Newport News...
, and serves the entire
Hampton RoadsHampton Roads is the name for both a body of water and the Norfolk–Virginia Beach metropolitan area which surrounds it in southeastern Virginia, United States...
metropolitan area along with
Norfolk International Airport-Baggage Claims:Southwest Airlines #1,Delta Airlines #2,US Airways | American Airlines #3,Continental Airlines|United Express #5- Facilities and aircraft :...
in
NorfolkNorfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
. The airport is owned and operated by the Peninsula Airport Commission, which is a political subdivision of the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Newport News/Williamsburg International does not currently handle any international passenger flights, but does service a number of corporate international flights. It has a large designated area built specifically for US Customs in Concourse A.
According to the
Bureau of Transportation StatisticsThe Bureau of Transportation Statistics , as part of the United States Department of Transportation, compiles, analyzes, and makes accessible information on the nation's transportation systems; collects information on intermodal transportation and other areas as needed; and improves the quality and...
in 2010, Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport ranks #31 on its list of Top 100 cheapest airports to fly from based on average airfare, ranking ahead of nearby Norfolk International(#71), as reported by the Daily Press. The airport has had lower average airfare costs than Norfolk and Richmond International since 1995, and has stayed below the national average airfare cost since 1997.
For June 2011, the airport ranks #7 on the Top 101 Airports on Affordability, conducted by cheapflights.com.
There are currently two runways (7-25 and 2-20). Plans for a third runway (7L-25R) date to the 1990s for future completion.
AirTran AirwaysAirTran Airways, a subsidiary of the Dallas, Texas-based Southwest Airlines, is an American low-cost airline headquartered in Orlando, Florida. AirTran operates over 650 daily flights , primarily in the eastern and midwestern United States...
is the airport's main airline operator. In August 2011, AirTran announced that it will cease operations at Newport News/Williamsburg International in March 2012. The airport is also serviced by
Delta Air LinesDelta Air Lines, Inc. is a major airline based in the United States and headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The airline operates an extensive domestic and international network serving all continents except Antarctica. Delta and its subsidiaries operate over 4,000 flights every day...
,
Frontier AirlinesFrontier Airlines, Inc., is an American airline headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The carrier, which is a subsidiary and operating brand of Republic Airways Holdings, operates flights to 83 destinations throughout the United States, Mexico, and Costa Rica and maintains hubs at...
,
US AirwaysUS Airways, Inc. is a major airline based in the U.S. city of Tempe, Arizona. The airline is an operating unit of US Airways Group and is the sixth largest airline by traffic and eighth largest by market value in the country....
and
Allegiant AirAllegiant Air is an American low-cost airline owned by Allegiant Travel Co. that operates scheduled and charter flights. Allegiant Travel Company is a publicly traded company with 1,300 employees and one billion USD market capitalization...
, which commenced service on November 16, 2011.
History
In 1946, Virginia's General Assembly passed legislation creating the Peninsula Airport Commission (PAC) to determine a location for and establish a new commercial airport to serve the cities of Newport News,
HamptonHampton is an independent city that is not part of any county in Southeast Virginia. Its population is 137,436. As one of the seven major cities that compose the Hampton Roads metropolitan area, it is on the southeastern end of the Virginia Peninsula. Located on the Hampton Roads Beltway, it hosts...
, and
WarwickWarwick is an extinct independent city which was located in the State of Virginia in the United States from 1952 until 1958. Formed by a political conversion of the former Warwick County, Virginia , it is now part of the independent city of Newport News, Virginia.-History:Warwick River Shire, named...
. An agreement was reached with the US War Asset Administration in 1947 to transfer 924
acreThe acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre. The most common use of the acre is to measure tracts of land.The acre is related...
s (3.7 km²) of the former
Camp Patrick HenryCamp Patrick Henry is a decommissioned United States Army base which was located in Warwick County, Virginia. After World War II, the site was redeveloped as a commercial airport, and became part of City of Newport News in 1958 when the former City of Warwick and Newport News were politically...
, a
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
US Army base, to the PAC as the site for the new airport. A Nike missile air defense base, known as N-85, still exists on the property, though abandoned since the mid-1960s.
The airport was originally named Patrick Henry Airport. It was assigned the designator
PHF, representing
Patrick
Henry
Field. The first runway built was Runway 2-20, a 3500 feet (1,066.8 m) runway, followed by Runway 6-24 (later redesignated as Runway 7-25). Commercial airline service began in November 1949. The airport was serviced by
Piedmont AirlinesPiedmont Airlines was a major airline in the United States which operated from 1948 until its operations were merged into USAir in 1989. Its headquarters were located at One Piedmont Plaza in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, a building which is now part of Wake Forest University.As of April 1989,...
and
Capital AirlinesCapital Airlines was an airline serving the eastern United States that merged into United Airlines in 1961. Its primary hubs were National Airport near Washington, DC, and Allegheny County Airport near Pittsburgh. In the 1950s it was the largest US domestic carrier after the Big Four . Its...
.
In 1951, the original passenger terminal was damaged by a fire.
An upgraded traffic control tower was constructed and began operation and Runway 6-24 was extended to 5000 feet (1,524 m) for larger four-engine aircraft during 1952. A new passenger terminal was opened in 1955.
Between 1952 and the 1970, three other airlines
United AirlinesUnited Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees (which includes the entire holding company United Continental...
,
National AirlinesNational Airlines was an airline founded in 1934 and was headquartered on the grounds of Miami International Airport in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States near Miami.- History :...
, and USAir extended service to the airport. Both runways were extended during this period to their current lengths of 6526 feet (1989 m) Runway 2-20, and 8003 feet (2439 m) Runway 7-25.
The airport was renamed "Patrick Henry International Airport" in 1975. A US Customs facility was added to the passenger terminal building to allow international flights (both commercial and corporate) access to the airfield. The airport now consists of 1800 acres (7.3 km²), with most of it in the city of Newport News and nearly half of the airfield with runways 20 and 25 in York County.
When the
United States CongressThe United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
deregulated the airlinesThe Airline Deregulation Act is a United States federal law signed into law on October 24, 1978. The main purpose of the act was to remove government control over fares, routes and market entry from commercial aviation...
in 1978, many airlines serving Patrick Henry Airport consolidated their southeast Virginia services at other area airports. This resulted in Patrick Henry International Airport losing all jet services. By 1979 the airport only offered small commuter flights to very few destinations.
On December 19, 1980, the Daily Press reported a committee authorized by the PAC recommended that the airport change its name to "Newport News/Williamsburg International" to then-Executive Director Michael White. This change would not take place until ten full years later. At the time, the Commission members represented the cities of Newport News, Hampton, and Williamsburg, as well as James City County and York County. Since 2010, the Commission consists of six commissioners who are appointed by the cities of Hampton (2) and Newport News (4).
In 1985, USAir added large jet services from
PittsburghPittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
and Washington, DC. These jet services were pulled in 1995 and the airline's
US Airways ExpressUS Airways Express is an airline brand name, rather than a fully certified airline, and as such, the US Airways Express name is used by several individually owned airlines or airline holding companies which provide regional airline and commuter service for US Airways.Operations are conducted from...
division now serves
PhiladelphiaPhiladelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
and
CharlotteCharlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...
from the airport. The PAC renamed the facility Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport in September 1990. A new terminal was opened in late 1992. AirTran Airways started service from the airport to
AtlantaAtlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
in 1995, and now also flies to
BostonBoston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
,
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, and
OrlandoOrlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
. In May 2008, AirTran discontinued service to Tampa and replaced it with an additional route to LaGuardia NYC. Delta Connection began service from Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport to Atlanta in February 2002, which also included nonstop service to Boston that year. Delta Air Lines maintained one daily mainline roundtrip flight to Atlanta operated by an MD-88 aircraft, but in June 2010 added a second MD-88 mainline flight, followed by a third and fourth. All Delta flights now include first class seating since 2010, and has offered service utilizing Boeing 737 and Airbus A319 aircraft on occasion.
Until the 1990s, part of the original terminal building was named Flight Services Building, and home to the National Weather Service. Weather reports and emergency alerts were broadcast on radio stations and weather frequencies during severe weather right from the airport.
When the original control tower was shut down in July 2007 with the opening of the state of the art 147 ft (44.8 m) tall new tower, it had been the oldest operating control tower on the east coast with continuous service for 55 years.
President
Barack ObamaBarack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
flew into the Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport on
Air Force OneAir Force One is the official air traffic control call sign of any United States Air Force aircraft carrying the President of the United States. In common parlance the term refers to those Air Force aircraft whose primary mission is to transport the president; however, any U.S. Air Force aircraft...
(from
Andrews Air Force BaseJoint Base Andrews is a United States military facility located in Prince George's County, Maryland. The facility is under the jurisdiction of the United States Air Force 11th Wing, Air Force District of Washington ....
) for the first time as President of the United States; he was to attend the U.S. House Democratic Retreat. The airport is the airport of choice for US Presidents who visit the Hampton Roads area, having been visited by Presidents George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush during their terms in office.
Expansion
In light of steady growth at the airport (which breaks its own record for passenger enplanements almost every month), the airport has launched a massive expansion effort. In 2009, additional parking lots were completed to handle increased rental car fleets; total parking capacity is estimated at 3,000, and a new air traffic control tower was completed in July 2007, to replace the one built in 1951. A new three-level parking garage opened in June 2007, with two or three more garages planned. The current pair of baggage claim carousels, will be increased to as many as five.
Further plans call for an additional three concourses, a third runway of 10000 ft (3,048 m), a new General Aviation terminal, and extending the existing runways to 10000 ft (3,048 m). Additional taxiways are planned as well.
The airport also is developing Air Commerce Park, which is an area of the airfield which was to host the 2003 Aviation World's Fair. This Park is planned to bring corporate flights and cargo handling capabilities as well as companies such as FedEx or UPS and others with unique hangar space and direct access to runways through Taxiways J and L which have reopened, bringing the total number of taxiways to 8. Recent news reports stated that Orion Air has begun operations as the first tenant in the Park employing 100 persons upon completion of construction on a 40000 sq ft (3,716.1 m²). facility.
The airport is served by various taxi companies, including Orange, American, Yellow, Best, and All City. Also, HRT (Hampton Roads Transit) directly serves the airport with regional bus service at two bus stops; the airport is on HRT Route 111 and is the only Hampton Roads airport with direct bus service. Shuttle and Limousine companies also service the airport through pre-arranged appointments. Five car rental agencies can be found at the airport, including Hertz, National, Enterprise and Avis/Budget, too.
The airport is also home to three Fixed Base Operators, Rick Aviation, Atlantic Aviation and Orion Air Group. Rick and Atlantic provide flight instruction schools, and jet fuel services to private and commercial airplanes. Atlantic Aviation handles international chartered flights. Rick Aviation continues to operate inside the original passenger terminal, sharing space with Denbigh High School's Aviation Academy (serving 350+ high school students). As Orion Air Group opened a new world headquarters 40,000sq. ft. facility which will employ 100 people, they are already planning an additional 70,000sq. ft expansion. Additionally, in 2011 Tidewater Flight Center opened a second location at the airport, providing flight instruction from the original terminal building. Also sharing the original terminal building is a local squadron of the Civil Air Patrol, which maintains several CAP airplanes at the airport.
The Commission also operates its own police department and fire department, which provide full service protection for the entire airport facility including the airport's own residential area, which continues to be home for some airport employees. Crimes investigated by the airport police are prosecuted mostly in Newport News city courts, though a few cases are prosecuted in York County courts, depending on which side of the city line crime occurs.
The airport has handled over one million passengers every year since 2005, with each succeeding year showing significant increases. The airport is considered the third-fastest growing airport in the United States and the 118th largest airport. Newport News-Williamsburg International is geographically larger than Norfolk International (1,800 acres versus 1,300 acres) and also boasts a taller Air Traffic Control Tower than Norfolk's. In January 2011, the airport reported that 2010 was its best year ever, with over 1,060,000 passengers, breaking all previous records despite the downturn economy.
For several years, rumors abounded that the substantial expansions may coincide with the announcement of a new carrier to come to the airport - with some speculation going as far as direct UK-Newport News flights. This rumor, though hardly substantiated, has circulated in a number of circles within Hampton Roads, which led up to
Jamestown 2007Jamestown 2007 is the name of the organization planning the events commemorating the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown, Virginia in 1607, the first permanent English-speaking settlement in what is now the United States of America...
festivities and the then-recent decision by UK industrial giant Wolseley plc to make Newport News their North American headquarters.
In December 2008, the PAC announced that Ken R. Spirito had been selected to serve as its new Executive Director, replacing interim director Mark Falin. Spirito served as Executive Director of Peoria International in Illinois up until his move to Newport News. In November 2010, Ted Kitchens was hired as Assistant Director of Planning and Development, having previously served with Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International in Georgia.
On February 4, 2010, PAC announced that
Frontier AirlinesFrontier Airlines, Inc., is an American airline headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The carrier, which is a subsidiary and operating brand of Republic Airways Holdings, operates flights to 83 destinations throughout the United States, Mexico, and Costa Rica and maintains hubs at...
would begin nonstop service from Newport News with direct flights to Denver, Colorado with four flights per week. Initial service was to be provided by Airbus A318 128-seat jets, to be followed up June 4 with Airbus A319 136-seat aircraft. Due to high demand however, the upgrade from A318 to A319 jets took place within weeks of the inaugural May 3 flight, far ahead of schedule.
For 2011, Frontier Airlines increased its service from the airport. Beginning May 13, 2011, Frontier flights used larger Airbus jets, A320s, with a capacity of 162. However, as of September 12, 2011, Frontier began providing service to the airport seasonally, from March to September of each year, according to a July report in the Daily Press. Starting March 2, 2012, Frontier will offer departures at 8:30am to Denver with a schedule that spans Monday through Friday of each week.
In late summer 2010, Delta announced that it would increase the size of its planes to accommodate more passengers, beginning with Boeing 737-800 series jets. Since January 2011, they provide two additional daily flights using 142 seat MD-88 aircraft, for a total of 4. Additional service, possibly using Airbus A320 aircraft, is expected for 2011.
The airport completed building its second terminal concourse (Concourse A) and opened it on May 3, 2010, which is served by
AirTran AirwaysAirTran Airways, a subsidiary of the Dallas, Texas-based Southwest Airlines, is an American low-cost airline headquartered in Orlando, Florida. AirTran operates over 650 daily flights , primarily in the eastern and midwestern United States...
,
Frontier AirlinesFrontier Airlines, Inc., is an American airline headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The carrier, which is a subsidiary and operating brand of Republic Airways Holdings, operates flights to 83 destinations throughout the United States, Mexico, and Costa Rica and maintains hubs at...
and Allegiant Airlines. Concourse A is also designed for a full-service Customs facility and larger-size international jets. Concourse B will be completely remodeled in 2012 with all new facilities and gates for Delta Air Lines and US Airways. A local contractor donated $50,000 worth of labor and materials to expand the airport's USO office in 2010, doubling it in size to better serve military personnel who fly through the airport. Additionally, expansion and improvements within the airport's atrium include all-new seating throughout the terminal building and both concourses, as well as a completely new Welcome Services center. The new seating is equipped with built-in electrical outlets and USB ports for computers and other devices. Virginia Lottery kiosks were installed as well as additional
automated teller machineAn automated teller machine or automatic teller machine, also known as a Cashpoint , cash machine or sometimes a hole in the wall in British English, is a computerised telecommunications device that provides the clients of a financial institution with access to financial transactions in a public...
s. Plasma screens have been placed throughout the terminal building to provide flight and luggage information, as well as plasma TV screens for news and events. An outdoor pair of escalators is planned to replace some of the stairs leading to the terminal from the parking lots. The airport also upgraded its wireless internet service, which previously was subscription-based (pay-per-use) and in 2011 unveiled completely free internet within the terminal, through a joint venture with Cox Communications. Parking lot expansions will continue, as well as additional parking garages. As reported by the Daily Press, the airport is undergoing over $23 million worth of expansions, improvements and upgrades.
Since January 2011, the airport has reported double-digit increases in passenger usage of the airport versus the same months of 2010. January 2011 figures were up 13.6%, February 2011 counts were up 10%, followed by a 9% increase for March and a 3.6% increase for April 2011. Overall, 23,941 more passengers have used the airport in 2011 over 2010, according to www.flyphf.com. 2011 statistics are up 7% overall, while competing airports Norfolk and Richmond are down for the year.
Newport News-Williamsburg is also the first airport in the nation to undergo a Sustainability Project, to incorporate green technology in every facet of operations.
Airlines and destinations
External links