Airport opens new terminal on Saturday

Public invited to Open House event at 2 p.m. on Airport Road

By Randy Arrington

LURAY, April 24 — On Saturday, the Luray Caverns Airport will be marking a monumental day among a string of $26 million in improvements over the past four decades.

“Well, we have, since approximately 1970 when the airport opened, we’ve been operating out of an old chicken house, and it is pretty well deteriorated,” Powell Markowitz told “Page Valley Livin'” back on March 13, 2024.

The Virginia Department of Aviation is paying 80 percent of the cost to build the new terminal, which will be the centerpiece of a grand opening and open house at the recently completed Luray Caverns Airport Terminal at 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 26.

Two years ago, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine announced the allocation of $1,226,527 to Virginia for the Commonwealth’s airport system through two grants distributed by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration. Specifically, the Department of Transportation awarded $476,527 to Luray Caverns Airport for the construction of a 4,600-square-foot terminal building to meet the operational needs of the airport, as well as the construction of an airport parking lot.

“Luray Caverns Airport serves thousands of Virginians every year and we are happy to see this funding go towards critical improvements,” said the Senators. “We are glad to see continued, meaningful investment in the Commonwealth’s infrastructure that will help to assess aviation needs across Virginia and make travel through our airports easier and more accessible.”

H.T.N. “Ted” Graves — former head of the Luray Caverns Corporation and a former World War II pilot — first donated 49 acres to Page County and the Town of Luray in 1969 to form a runway. The flying enthusiast would fund the expansion and operations of the small airport for 45 years before it was handed over to the Luray-Page County Airport Authority in 2015.

On most major projects at the airport, 98 percent of the funding is provided either through federal or state funding, with the Town of Luray and Page County, as equal partners in the Authority, typically picking up about 1 percent of the bill each, according to a report Markowitz offered the Luray Council on April 14.

The Luray Caverns Airport currently houses around 47 aircraft worth an estimated $10 million, which generates around $50,000 annually for the county in tax revenue. That was made possible by the addition of rental hanger space in 2008 and again in 2023 to a total now of 42 units — all of which are filled, up to date, with a waiting list behind them, according to Markowitz. The hangars were built through USDA loans (40-year fixed at 2.5 percent), but the revenue from renting them more than covers the debt service.

The airport expansion has also fueled job creation, as Aircraft Maintenance Solutions and Elevate Avionics employ more than a dozen individuals conducting repairs, inspections and routine maintenance on a wide range of aircraft.

“That’s the true life blood of an airport — a mechanics shop,” Markowitz told PVN back in 2021. HIs name has been almost synonymous with the local airport since he joined the airport commission (now the Authority) in the early 1980s.

The local airport now spreads out over more than 100 acres. Next year, its master plan will be updated. That plan could include goals to increase fuel storage at the site with a growing number of aircraft, and the lengthening of the runway from its current 3,225 feet to between 4,000 and 5,000 feet. However, a project of that nature would be based on demand and costs could reach $10-12 million over several years.

According to a 2016 economic impact study Markowitz presented to the Luray Council last week, the Luray Caverns Airport contributes $2.1 million to the local economy. He also noted that the study was conducted before the addition of new hangers, new business and new jobs.

“That number may be double, or even triple at this point,” Markowitz told the Council.

The expansions and additions at the local airport have not only been aimed at handling additional traffic, but also at making the operation more self-sufficient.

“The County and the Town pay very little,” Markowitz said, “and that will be less and less over time.”

The Open House at the Luray Caverns Airport Terminal is set for 2 p.m. this Saturday, April 26 at 1504 Airport Road just west of Luray. The 20-minute program will include speeches from distinguished guests, with light refreshments and tour of the building afterwards.

“There was a big push by the state because they wanted to have nice terminals in their airports,” Markowitz told PVN last year. “It’s the first thing visitors see when they arrive, and the last thing they see when they leave.”