Officials with River Town Aviation LLC at the Mid-Ohio Valley Regional Airport held a ribbon cutting in October to commemorate the completed renovations to Hangar 4. (File Photo)

WILLIAMSTOWN — With the contract for its commercial air service up this year, the Mid-Ohio Valley Regional Airport could see flights to a new location or continue with service to Charlotte.

At least three carriers, including the incumbent Contour Airlines, have expressed interest in operating at the local airport under the federal Alternate Essential Air Service program, Manager Ben Auville said.

The U.S. Department of Transportation will review the bids to ensure they meet the program’s criteria, while local officials will be able to weigh in before a final decision is made.

Contour started providing service to the airport in December 2018. Annual enplanements – the number of people boarding flights at the airport – averaged about 3,000 a year under previous carrier Via and have risen to around 6,500 over the last three years, Auville said.

“With Contour, we have had growth,” he said.

Children explore an HH-60 Blackhawk helicopter during the inaugural Kids STEM Day in June at the Mid-Ohio Valley Regional Airport. Airport officials plan to continue offering events to engage the community and its youth. (File Photo)

The goal for years has been to push annual enplanements over the 10,000 mark, which increases the annual federal entitlement funding from $150,000 to $1 million.

The Contour routes have been in conjunction with the Raleigh County Memorial Airport in Beckley. Flights take off from Parkersburg, land in Beckley, then continue to Charlotte Douglas International Airport. Return trips stop in Beckley before arriving in Parkersburg. The federal subsidy for the combined route is $4.9 million, with $2.1 million covering the Parkersburg service, Auville said.

Beckley airport officials have submitted a proposal for their own, separate route, which Auville noted could increase the cost for Parkersburg but also might provide additional opportunities for growth. Without sharing the 30 seats each flight between both airports, Parkersburg could increase its enplanements.

That also might make an alternative destination more appealing. If flights from the Beckley and Clarksburg airports continue to go to Charlotte, “we might be better off to position ourself somewhere else if that’s offered” by another bidder, Auville said. Otherwise “Contour’s competing with Contour.”

The airport authority heard a presentation from Contour in January and another airline earlier this month. A third airline recently called to express interest, and it’s possible more companies could get in the mix when the bidding process formally opens, Auville said. A timeline has not been established, in part due to ongoing changes in Washington, D.C., but the current contract expires on Sept. 30, the end of the federal fiscal year.

As airport officials consider what the future of commercial travel there could look like, efforts continue to build up the facility as an economic driver for the area.

The authority formed the Mid-Ohio Valley Airport Economic Development Committee last fall to create a development plan. It includes authority member Andrew Daniel; state Delegate Bob Fehrenbacher, R-Wood; Wood County Economic Development Executive Director Lindsey Piersol; Southeast Ohio Port Authority Executive Director Jesse Roush; Pleasants County Commissioner Doug Renner; and West Virginia University at Parkersburg President Torie Jackson.

The Thrasher Group created concept drawings for a 60-acre pad near the south ramp of the runway. They’re also working on an existing flat parcel nearby to make it site-ready for industrial expansion, Daniel said.

Daniel and other members of the committee plan to attend an aviation conference in Paris in June to look for potential tenants.

Aside from his role on the authority, Daniel has been involved in development at the airport through his company, 3D Construction Properties. The business renovated a hangar at the airport in exchange for a 20-year lease on the property, an agreement approved by the authority on a vote from which Daniel recused himself.

The hangar is being sublet to River Town Aircraft Services, a repair operation, and River Town Aviation, a flight school.

“We’ve had … a great supply of students, a lot of interest and a lot of airplanes being worked on,” Daniel said.

The company plans to break ground on a new 15,000-square-foot hangar adjacent to the existing hangar. In return, under another agreement approved by the authority with Daniel recusing himself, they will put a new roof on the former Civil Air Patrol building.

Airport officials continue to look at events to engage the community, following its Trunk or Treat – that has drawn interest from other airports in the state – and the inaugural Kids STEM Day in June. Auville said they are looking at a variety of potential events this year with the goal of hosting an air show every other year, starting in 2026.

“All of these are geared toward getting exposure to aviation for kids in our community,” Auville said.

Evan Bevins can be reached at ebevins@newsandsentinel.com