Advanced air mobility (AAM), unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and other innovative aviation technologies are key focus areas as officials at Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport (PHF) and the city of Newport News, VA, look to new opportunities for economic growth at the facility.
A 2024 study funded through a grant from the state recommended the airport look toward emerging aviation sectors to offset decreases in commercial airline activity at PHF over the last several years.
Christopher Morello, the newly named executive director for the airport, noted the airport is moving quickly in that direction.
“In fact, I just finished the first draft of our AAM section of the airport’s master plan update, which we hope to have the FAA approve by the middle of 2026,” he said. “That plan includes contemplation of infrastructure needed to support vertiports for either crewed or uncrewed AAM activity, and to support all-electric vehicles.”
PHF is ideally located for such operations, he added, with approximately 330 acres of zoned-industrial land adjacent to the north and south ends of the field. “With a lot of acreage that have come open for immediate development, we’d really like to attract a manufacturer in the AAM or [UAS] realms,” Morello added.
Other possible tenants including AAM maintenance facilities, companies that retrofit hybrid-electric powerplants to existing aircraft and other businesses focused on promoting aviation sustainability.
The airport also is exploring limited cargo opportunities and especially expansion of charter activities utilizing AAM or conventional aircraft, which Morello noted would also drive new business for the two FBOs on the field.
“This airport is really important for the region and for the commonwealth of Virginia,” he said. “You’re just not going to find the workforce we have in this area anywhere else, including exiting military aviation specialists, or the room to grow on existing acres. We’re leaving the door open for all kinds of advanced manufacturing, including some of the hybrid-drive technology that I believe we’re more likely to see before all-electric vehicles.”
While AAM and UAS are intended to ultimately operate from areas outside the traditional airport environment, “we first need to get there from here,” Morello said. “If you’re flying with passengers and cargo, you’ll need some amount of land, and we have two runways. So why not here at Newport News?
“There is no tentativeness to our ability to host this sector and everything within it,” he said. “We’re on the leading edge of making that happen at this airport.”
