Published: September 11, 2008 01:26 am      

Takeover of aviation fuel sales is paying dividends for airport

BRIDGEPORT — A takeover of aviation fuel sales late last year is paying dividends for the North Central West Virginia Airport, officials said.

The airport’s governing body approved a fiscal 2009 budget Wednesday that has the airport operating in the black without any county or municipal subsidies, said Marion Commissioner Rusty Elliott.

“Since we took over the fuel sales, we’ve been able to make the airport financially stable,” he said. The fuel sales help offset a deficit in other areas of the airport’s operating budget, Elliott said.

The new budget estimates the airport will sell 585,000 gallons of jet fuel in the year ending June 30. Jim Smith and Rick Rock, two board members who are also certified public accountants, helped prepare the budget.

“It’s great to have two CPAs on our board,” Elliott said. The board may realize a profit of $400,000 on fuel sales in the new fiscal year, which started July 1.

In other developments, Joan Keith, the airport’s marketing director, said projections of passenger enplanements show the airport may miss its target of 10,000 by only 800 to 1,000 travelers.

If the airport can board 10,000 passengers by Dec. 31, it will once again qualify for a $1 million annual subsidy from the Federal Aviation Administration.

E-mail Bill Byrd at bbyrd@timeswv.com.