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Airport expansion project takes off

An artist’s rendering of the C. David Snyder Terminal.

Two recent developments put Ohio University’s airport on the verge of a new era of expanded and improved service. Ohio University Trustee David Snyder, BBA ’74, has donated $750,000 of the $1.5 million needed to construct a new airport terminal, and a federal grant is supporting a runway extension.

The cumulative effect will be an airport that can handle larger planes, such as corporate jets and small commuter and cargo planes, and accommodate more passengers.

“This should open up economic and other opportunities for the entire region,” says Ohio University President Robert Glidden. “This entire project promises to make the region more accessible for Ohio University students, parents, alumni and area businesses and their clients.”

David Snyder

Snyder’s gift makes possible a 7,000-square-foot terminal, about two and a half times larger than the existing structure at the Albany facility. The terminal will house airport staff, counters for commuter airline and rental car services and baggage and passenger waiting areas.

“To have a great university, you need to have economic balance. One way to achieve that balance is to have access to the region,” says Snyder, a businessman from Lakewood, Ohio.

A $480,000 grant from the Federal Aviation Administration supports the first phase of extending the runway from 4,200 feet to 5,600 feet. The extension will allow larger planes to land and improve access for Ohio University aviation majors and Avionics Engineering Center researchers.

The terminal will be named the C. David Snyder Terminal and the runway Snyder Field. The name of the airport will remain the Ohio University Gordon K. Bush Regional Airport.

— Jack Jeffery