CHARLESTON, WV (WOWK) – A proposed runway expansion at West Virginia Yeager International Airport is still on hold months after it was put on a pause , pending FAA approval. That proposed project would extend Yeager’s runway by more than 1,000 feet, which would extend the runway north through Coonskin Park.

On Tuesday afternoon, multiple FAA officials and Yeager staff members answered questions during two public meetings at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Charleston about the ongoing pause, the previously proposed alternatives to the original airport runway expansion plan, and the terminal modifications.

“The pause will be ongoing until such time that the airport completes the additional planning studies. We don’t have a timeframe on that. It’s kind of dependent on them. They are focused on the terminal project now, which was originally being considered alongside the runway, but because it still has kind of a pressing need, it’s being put forward separately even though the rest of the project is on pause,” said Andrew Brooks, regional environmental program manager for the Eastern Region Airports Division of the FAA.

The ongoing pause on the Environmental Impact Statement, or EIS, began in late March to allow for more planning on the Airfield, Safety and Terminal Improvement Project, according to a press release from Yeager Airport.

“Since then, conditions at the airport have changed at the airport with Spirit leaving, Breeze entering. There’s new markets being considered. So, some of the underlying planning conditions for the requested project have changed. That’s why we paused the project so the airport can go back and reexamine some of the planning and see about the runway justification moving forward,” Brooks said.

Yeager’s terminal modification project would include demolishing concourses A and C, placing new pavement in front of the terminal complex, renovating the existing terminal, building a new taxiway and more updates according to maps presented during Tuesday’s meeting.

Brooks said now that the EIS runway expansion is still on hold, Yeager is focusing solely on improving their terminal.

Since 2022 when talk of extending the runway into Coonskin Park arose, several advocates for the park have put up a fight to save the land through an organization called “Save Coonskin Park.” They’ve now hit almost 12,000 petition signatures and are still looking for more people to get involved.

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A spokesperson and organizer from their organization, Jeremy Severn, along with several other organization members said they went to the public meeting to gain answers about what Yeager is considering moving forward and how it will impact the park.

“We’re here to learn more about the pause, the reason for the pause, what does the word ‘pause’ really mean? Is the word ‘pause’ a fancy word for ‘the project is not moving forward ever,’ or is it an actual true pause?” Severn said. “How long is the pause? The biggest thing is the reason for the pause. Why was the decision made for the pause, because the last we knew, the FAA was going to be releasing their draft of the EIS at the end of April.”

Severn said since the airport decided to pause the runway expansion at the end of March, he along with other considered friends of the park have been wondering what will happen moving forward.

“We’re excited about any improvements to our airport that stays in the current footprint of the airport or involves an alternative that is not an environmental disaster that does not turn the mountains next to the airport into a mountaintop removal site and destroying our park in the process,” Severn said.

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