New air carrier for two West Virginia airports

LEWISBURG, W.Va. (WVVA) -As the nation falls under the effects of the pilot shortage, SkyWest made the decision to pull out of thirty airports, including the Clarksburg and Lewisburg airports.

However, due to the efforts of Senator Manchin and Senator Capito, West Virginia will not be losing any access to the air.

The Department of Transportation has selected Contour Airlines to replace SkyWest at these locations, ensuring that West Virginia will have access to Essential Air Services for years to come. Since the airports fall under the Essential Air Services Program, the government will pay the new airline to operate in the area.

Brian Belcher, the Airport Director for the Greenbriar County Airport says having air travel available to the people of West Virginia is important to the well-being of the entire area.

“Besides people in-bound for tourism and all the other activities, it also gives the people living here in this whole region an easy way to get globally connected because when you get to the Charlotte hub, American has international flights, probably over 50 international flights a day, so it really gives us one... gives this community one-stop access to the world, and we think that’s going to be a big positive.”

Those flying can expect the Clarksburg and Lewisburg airports to switch to Contour Airlines on November first.