CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Dominique Ranieri with Yeager Airport said the airport did everything in its power to keep United Airlines from pulling its daily commercial nonstop route to Houston from the facility.
The final air service between Charleston’s Yeager Airport (CRW) and Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) will be on Friday after 18 years of flight, the longest run in CRW history.
“United Airlines officials basically came to us and said they have an extreme shortage of pilots and crew on these sorts of flights of this stage length,” Ranieri said.
“The situation is they are getting new aircraft and they need to pull crew off to train. After about four rounds of cuts, CRW was cut from the schedule.”
Ranieri, who is the Director of Marketing for CRW, told MetroNews the airport has little control over decisions like the one taken on the 975-mile CRW-IAH connection.
She said CRW officials do their best to communicate the state’s needs but it comes down to a business decision.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the number of pilots in the past three decades has declined by 30%.
“Pilot shortage is so extreme right now that that is why you are seeing a lot fewer flights in all of the airports, not just CRW,” Ranieri said.
“We are doing everything we can to combat that.”
Ranieri said one of the ways the airport is working to combat the issue, which she said could get worse in the coming years, is with the potential aviation school with Marshall University.
She said that CRW is also working with business partners that use the flight heavily and with congressional delegation to try and convince United to how important the service is to the state.
According to Ranieri, there is a chance the flight could be added back in the Fall.
Earlier this month, CRW announced that American Airlines is adding a daily flight to Chicago O’Hare International Airport.
CRW officials will be headed to airline meetings in the coming weeks to pitch the state in an attempt to attract new service.