Members of the Martinsburg-Berkeley County Chamber of Commerce Government Affairs Committee met Wednesday at the Eastern West Virginia Regional Airport, where they heard a presentation on airport operations from Executive Director Nic Diehl.
“Let me dispel some rumors first. We are not on a Guard base. The 167th is our largest tenant,” he said, adding that the Air Guard encompasses 341 acres of the airport property.
“We also have no commercial service, and there likely won’t be any in say, the next 60 years. We are less than 90 miles from 12 commercial airports,” he continued, saying that there is not a market to be had for commercial flights with those in such close proximity.
Diehl shared a bit of history of the airport, saying that it started as a little grass field.
“We are the oldest airport in the state,” he said, adding the locale celebrated its 101st anniversary recently.
Diehl shared that in 1946, the City of Martinsburg recognized the importance of the airport and took it on as a city airport. In 1955, the city asked to have an airlift wing stationed there, which was granted by the federal government.
In 1976, he continued, Berkeley County joined forces with the City of Martinsburg to help support the airport.
“In our 101 years, we have changed a lot. We are working at being self-sufficient,” he said, adding that the budget for the airport five years ago was at $400,000 and now stands at approximately $3 million. “As we look at the future, we have more aircraft based here than any other airport in West Virginia.”
This includes the Air Guard’s C17s, as well as about 100 other airplanes based at the airport at any given time.
“We could use about four more hangars,” he said.
Diehl said that there are 24 companies based at the airport location, and the move is on to have even more locate there. The addition of educational options will help entice companies to come here, he said. Those opportunities come through a business administration degree, with an aviation concentration, offered at Shepherd University, as well as the location of Marshall University’s flight school at the airport.
“Maintenance will be a larger program, as Blue Ridge CTC is in the final stage of degree approval for an aviation maintenance program,” Diehl said. “This is the future of our airport — that educational component.”
Each year, there are multiple community events held at the airport — a most popular one being the annual Independence Day celebration. Scheduled each year on the Saturday prior to the Fourth of July, the event is becoming a go-to for many in the Panhandle.
In addition, the airport has begun hosting a pancake breakfast with kid’s events, an event that will be coming up in October. Last year, the airport hosted a Santa event, one which Diehl said he thought would not draw many people but was a huge success. That event will return this year, he said.
What will not return in 2025 is an air show. The airport hosted an air show in 2024 but needs to space the next one out because of its need for extensive planning and volunteer recruitment. Diehl was not specific on when the next show will be scheduled, but he mentioned potentially in 2026 or even 2027.
“We’re always looking for things to do for the community,” Diehl said. “At the end of the day, it’s your airport.”