A substantial amount of progress has been made on the WV AEIS as we start off the new year. Data collection efforts for tenants, aviation-reliant businesses, and out-of-state visitors using commercial service or general aviation (GA) officially closed on December 1st. The Project Team reviewed the information gathered from these efforts to remove “outlier” data and validate the accuracy of the information provided. Direct impacts at the airport level were assessed and confirmed in collaboration with the West Virginia Aeronautics Commission (WVAC).
To develop a collection of “real life stories” or case studies, the Project Team conducted interviews with a diverse group of individuals to highlight the integral roles aviation and West Virginia’s airport system serve in the state. These stories include perspectives from business owners, higher education staff, military members, aerospace companies, medevac operators, and more. These stories will be shared in the final report documentation to showcase the qualitative benefits alongside the quantitative impacts.