Federal Aviation Administration records say the airport had 3,630 passenger boardings (enplanements) in
calendar year 2008,[3] 2,626 in 2009 and 2,429 in 2010.[4] The
National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015
categorized it as a non-primary commercial service airport based on enplanements in 2008 (between 2,500 and 10,000)[5] but would categorize it as general aviation based in enplanements in 2010 (under 2,500).
The airport opened in 1950–52 with a 4200-foot east–west runway; the first airline flights were Piedmont DC-3s in 1952. (The last Piedmont YS-11 left in 1981.) The runway was extended to 5000 ft in the 1950s, and 6750-ft runway 1 was added between 1975 and 1979.
In 2005 the airport was the least busy airport with scheduled airline service in the United States, with 2,578 passengers that year.[6]
Facilities
The airport covers 1,433 acres (580
ha) at an elevation of 2,504 feet (763 m). It has two asphalt runways: 1/19 is 6,750 by 150 feet (2,057 x 46 m) and 10/28 is 5,001 by 100 feet (1,524 x 30 m).[2]
In the year ending April 30, 2022, the airport had 23,181 aircraft operations, average 63 per day: 85% general aviation, 6%
air taxi, and 9% military. 33 aircraft were then based at the airport: 21 single-engine, 7 multi-engine, 4 jet, and 1
helicopter.[2]
Order 2004-6-14 (June 18, 2004): selecting Colgan Air, Inc., d/b/a US Airways Express, to continue providing essential air service at Beckley and Bluefield/Princeton, West Virginia, for the two-year period beginning August 1, 2004, at an annual subsidy of $2,017,064.
Order 2006-7-2 (July 3, 2006): selecting Colgan Air, Inc., d/b/a US Airways Express, to provide essential air service at Beckley, West Virginia, for a new two-year period beginning August 1, 2006, at a subsidy of $1,930,759 annually.
Order 2008-6-14 (June 10, 2008): re-selecting Pinnacle Airlines, Corp. d/b/a Colgan Air, Inc., to continue to provide subsidized essential air service (EAS) at Beckley, West Virginia, for the two-year period beginning August 1, 2008, at the annual subsidy rate of $2,092,844.
Order 2010-6-25 (June 29, 2010): re-selecting Colgan Air, Inc. to provide essential air service (EAS) at Clarksburg/Fairmont and Morgantown, WV, for a combined annual subsidy of $2,976,438, and at Beckley, WV, for an annual subsidy of $2,313, 457, for the two-year period from August 1, 2010, through July 31, 2012. Also selecting Gulfstream International Airlines, Inc., to provide EAS at Parkersburg, WV/Marietta, OH, at an annual subsidy rate of $2,642,237, for a two-year period beginning when the carrier inaugurates full EAS through the end of the 24th month thereafter. The total annual subsidy for all four communities is $7,923,132.
Order 2012-4-32 (April 30, 2012): selecting Silver Airways to provide Essential Air Service (EAS) at Beckley, Clarksburg/Fairmont ("Clarksburg") and Morgantown, West Virginia, for a combined annual subsidy of $5,968,744 ($2,512,494 for Beckley; $3,456,250 for Clarksburg and Morgantown), for the two-year period beginning when the carrier begins full EAS at all three communities.