Greenbrier Valley Airport's economic impact gaining altitude

Jul. 24—When aircraft swoop into Greenbrier Valley Airport, the sound of those airplane engines is only an echo of the bigger economic engine that the airport fuels every day.

A new study put together by the West Virginia Aeronautics Commission found that the Maxwelton airport has an annual economic impact totaling more than $50 million on the region that makes up the state's 10th Senatorial District — Greenbrier, Fayette, Summers and Monroe counties. Statewide, the annual impact of the aviation industry is more than $1 billion, the study revealed.

Airport Director Brian Belcher told The Register-Herald that a Commission representative had spent three or four days at the airport gathering data, and over the next several months had sought additional local information that also was used in the Aviation Economic Impact Study (AEIS) that was released last week.

In a summary of the report posted on Facebook by Sen. Stephen Baldwin of Ronceverte, who represents the 10th District and serves as the state Senate's minority leader, Greenbrier Valley is noted for "significant passenger activity" by visitors who are en route to The Greenbrier resort.

Belcher estimated that as much as 75 to 80 percent of the airport's traffic — both commercial and private — is connected to the resort.

"It's a very high number," he said, pointing out that the airport also serves The Omni Homestead resort in Hot Springs, Virginia, and Snowshoe Mountain resort in Pocahontas County.

But while the percentages still are holding true from the 2019 pre-pandemic figures upon which the AEIS is based, there were some significant changes in the passenger profile during the pandemic, and those changes are still evident.

"During the 15 or 16 pandemic months, we have seen people coming in to do other things (outside of resort visits) — the river and the Greenbrier River Trail are big draws," Belcher said. "I would say we have a broader passenger profile now than before the pandemic."

He emphasized the airport's close working relationship with the Greenbrier County Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB), which continues to market the region as a great area for outdoor recreation.

That marketing also ties in with the Ascend West Virginia initiative, which is designed to attract remote workers to settle in the state by offering an incentive package that includes $12,000 and a year's worth of free outdoor recreation. Lewisburg is one of three cities selected to introduce the grant-funded program.

"We're excited about the Ascend program," Belcher said. "It will create more travel to our area."

Greenbrier Valley already holds the distinction among the state's seven commercial service airports of having the highest dollar amount spent by the average visitor — $430.

On a statewide basis, lodging accounts for the majority of visitor spending, at 37 percent, according to the study. Another 26 percent of the money spent by guests went to food and beverage purchases, and 17 percent was spent on local transportation. The remaining 20 percent went to retail purchases and entertainment.

Other significant findings in the AEIS about Greenbrier Valley Airport's economic impact included the 365 jobs in the four-county region attributed to the presence of the airport, and a payroll of $26.7 million for those jobs.

Belcher said around 100 of the jobs mentioned in the study are actually at the airport, and that 28 of those people are employed by the Greenbrier County Airport Authority — the airport's five-member governing body. The other 72 jobs at the facility are held by employees of the TSA (Transportation Security Administration), airlines, car rental companies and other entities doing business at the airport.

Restaurant under new management

Airport employees will soon be joined by several more people who will be employed at the long-shuttered restaurant inside the airport terminal building. Belcher said Mi Tequila Mexican Restaurant is expected to take over operation of the eatery, which was most recently known as Landings.

He noted that Mi Tequila is striving to staff up before opening in the new location, having spent two years in a leased building next door to the Tudor's Biscuit World in Lewisburg.

"They are having the same issue as other restaurants," Belcher said of Mi Tequila's owners, who have posted similar information on social media. "They can't get enough employees. They need three cooks to properly operate the restaurant and only have two, after a recent resignation."

He added, "They like the space, and they like the location (at the airport)."

Belcher said he anticipates the airport's restaurant, which closed in early April of 2020 due to pandemic restrictions on both air travel and restaurant services, will reopen under new management shortly.

The southern route

While not expected to occur anytime soon, another change at the airport is even more highly anticipated. Progress is being made, albeit incrementally, in the airport's effort to add a southern route to its commercial aviation options.

The slow pace of that progress is what he expected, said Belcher, who came to Greenbrier Valley with a background in air service development.

"It's a long process," he said, noting that continuous contact with the airlines that might at some point agree to provide flights between Greenbrier Valley and a hub in Atlanta, Charlotte or another southern city is essential.

In addition to securing the services of Ailevon Pacific Aviation Consulting to steer the process, Belcher has reached out to the local airport's major stakeholders in order to present a unified front.

"I've tried to bring all of the major local entities together — the resorts, Chamber of Commerce, CVB, the city, the county," Belcher said. "We're now in direct contact with the airlines, and I regularly talk with them. There's a good possibility we will get a southern route, but I can't say when it will happen. It's a work in progress."

In a February interview with The Register-Herald, a couple of months after the search for a southern route began, Belcher pointed to his experience in securing new routes for airports.

"I've spent as long as seven years on getting a new route, and I've spent as little as three months on getting a new route," he said. "As a community, we have to be able to convince an airline we can be profitable with a route."

— Email: talvey@register-herald.com