CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Yeager Airport will be known as West Virginia International Yeager Airport beginning in 2022.
The airport’s board members voted to approve a name addition for the facility on Wednesday, something that had been discussed since March. The name addition will be effective January 1, 2022.
Yeager is dedicated to Chuck Yeager, a famed pilot and West Virginia native, who died in January. West Virginia’s largest airport was renamed Yeager Airport in 1985, after opening in 1947 as Kanawha Airport.
Yeager Airport Director Nick Keller told MetroNews there were zero discussions of removing Yeager from the name as the airport looked to rebrand.
“We would never do that. We are very proud that General (Chuck) Yeager is from Lincoln County and made such contributions to aviation in his life. We want to make sure that his name is still there,” Keller said.
Keller said the international tag, which was agreed to by network planners, is appropriate given the upcoming addition of a U.S. Customs Building at Yeager in December. The airport stated as part of its news release, “To be designated an international airport, you have to have a U.S. Customs Building at the airport. You do not have to have international commercial service.”
The airport, which will keep CRW as its code, has direct flights to Charlotte, Chicago, Washington D.C., Philadelphia, Myrtle Beach, Atlanta, Orlando, and Ft. Lauderdale through American, Delta, Spirit, and United Airlines.
Keller said the customs building gives the airport a chance to market to people to do business in West Virginia from outside the country, flying nonstop into Charleston to clear customs. He said they can also market to overflights, as private flights may look for a smaller destination to clear customs and buy fuel.
“We want to let the public, pilots and the aviation community know once that facility is completed and international, that we do have international capabilities,” Keller said.
Keller added that it was key to add a location to the name. According to him, Yeager Airport is one of 31 commercial airports in the country without a city, state, or region in our name. There are only five states without an international airport.
“We wanted to add the name of West Virginia so people from outside the state know where the airport is. People from around here know where Yeager Airport is but once you leave West Virginia, virtually nobody knows where Yeager Airport is,” Keller said.
It’s been over a decade since the airport did a brand refresh. Keller said over the next few months there will be graphic design proposals to update the logo.
Keller also mentioned that 2022 is the perfect time for a rebrand based on the airport celebrating 75 years and the National Park and Preserve designation to the New River Gorge.