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WILLIAMSTOWN -- If a private company does not move forward with plans to build a new hangar at the Mid-Ohio Valley Regional Airport, Manager Glen Kelly said Tuesday airport officials should consider doing so themselves.
"Right now the hangar is on hold," Kelly said during Tuesday's regular meeting of the Wood County Airport Authority. "They are still very interested."
Although he did not mention specific numbers, Kelly said the project might not turn out to be as expensive as he initially thought.
"I think it's feasible for us to talk about county, city and other help to build the hangar ourselves," he said.
The airport currently does not have a hangar large enough for commercial air service provider Contour Airlines to park its jet overnight, which airport officials say would bolster the company's already strong reliability. The hangar would also provide space for larger corporate jets and other aircraft, Kelly said.
"Guys on this field are buying planes like crazy," he said. "I think we're going to need a bigger hangar than just a G4-capable hangar."
Kelly said that based on operations statistics -- primarily takeoffs and landings of commercial, private and military aircraft -- compiled by the Federal Aviation Administration, the local airport was the second-busiest in West Virginia in 2018.
It had been third for the previous seven years behind Morgantown and Charleston but moved ahead of Charleston's Yeager Airport by a little more than 500 operations last year. Kelly attributed the change to increases in civil and military aviation, additional oil and gas industry activity and charter flights for an Ohio University athletic team landing there on return trips.
Not all of the military traffic is related to the local West Virginia Air National Guard facility. Some is transient aircraft whose crew may want to stop for a bite to eat when they refuel, Kelly said.
"The restaurant's a good part of that for the military guys," he said.
As for the airport's commercial carrier, Contour maintained a 100 percent completion rate in February once a couple of weather-related cancellations were factored out, Kelly said. Enplanements for the month totaled 255, up 33 from the same period in 2018.
There were three delays of more than an hour in February, caused by a combination of maintenance and weather issues, Kelly said. One departure from Charlotte Douglas International Airport was more than an hour late due to a crew member being sick and a second spare plane being brought in from Baltimore.
"But the fact that they've got a second spare…," Kelly said.
"That's pretty impressive," authority member Terry Moore said.
Reliability was a key factor when Contour was recommended to replace incumbent Essential Air Service provider Via Airlines last year. Via had to cancel a number of flights during its tenure due to planes not being available because of scheduled maintenance, airport officials have said.
Another delay happened Sunday, this one lasting five hours.
"The delay started with a maintenance issue and then it turned into a weather issue here," Kelly said. The flight had been delayed four hours before taking off in Charlotte, then had to circle the local airport for 50 minutes because the runway had frozen over while the plane was in the air.
Kelly said he received a call Monday from Contour CEO Matt Chaifetz, explaining what led to the delay and reiterating the company's commitment to ensuring flights are completed.
Authority President Bill Richardson said that while delays are frustrating, they are sometimes unavoidable and Contour still has posted a strong record in its three months at the airport.