In 1946, Virginia's General Assembly passed legislation creating the Peninsula Airport Commission (PAC) to determine a location for and establish a new airport for the cities of
Newport News and
Hampton. An agreement was reached with the US War Asset Administration in 1947 to transfer 924 acres (3.7 km2) of the former
Camp Patrick Henry, a World War II US Army base, to the PAC as the site for the new airport. A Nike missile air defense base, known as N-85, still exists on the property, though abandoned since the mid-1960s. The airport was originally named
Patrick Henry Airport, its code
PHF representing
Patrick
Henry
Field. The first runway was 2–20, a runway, followed by 6–24 (later redesignated as 7–25). Airline service began in November 1949 on
Piedmont Airlines and
Capital Airlines. In 1951 the passenger terminal was damaged by a fire. An upgraded traffic control tower was built and Runway 6–24 was extended to in 1952; a new passenger terminal opened in 1955.
National Airlines arrived at PHF in 1955 and by 1964 was operating all of its flights from the airport with
Lockheed L-188 Electra turboprops with service to
Washington DC National Airport,
New York JFK Airport, New York
Newark Airport,
Baltimore,
Philadelphia and nearby
Norfolk.
Allegheny Airlines (later renamed
USAir) arrived in 1966.
United Airlines (which had acquired and merged with
Capital Airlines), National, Allegheny and Piedmont all operated jets to PHF with the first jets being operated by National with
Boeing 727s in 1966 (runway 6 had been extended from 5600 to 6100 ft by then). Both runways were extended to their current lengths of 6526 feet (1989 m) Runway 2–20, and 8003 feet (2439 m) Runway 7–25. The airport became
Patrick Henry International Airport in 1975. According to the
Official Airline Guide, four airlines were serving the airport in early 1976 with nonstop or direct, no change of plane flights including Allegheny with
McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30 jets from
Boston,
Hartford,
Philadelphia and
Providence; National with
Boeing 727-100 and
Boeing 727-200 jets from
New York JFK Airport, Washington DC National Airport and nearby
Norfolk; Piedmont with
NAMC YS-11 turboprops from
Atlanta,
Columbus, OH,
Florence, SC,
New Bern, NC, Norfolk,
Parkersburg, WV,
Richmond, VA,
Roanoke, VA and Washington DC National Airport; and United with
Boeing 727-100 and
Boeing 737-200 jets from Atlanta,
Chicago O'Hare Airport,
Moline, IL and Washington DC National Airport. A
US Customs facility was added to the terminal to allow international arrivals (airline and corporate). The airport currently covers , most of it in the city of Newport News and nearly half of the airfield with runways 20 and 25 in York County. When the
United States Congress deregulated the airlines in 1978, many airlines serving Patrick Henry Airport consolidated their southeast Virginia services at other airports, and Patrick Henry International Airport lost most of its jet service. National pulled out in 1978. In late 1978, Piedmont was operating
Boeing 737-200 jets nonstop to New York
JFK Airport, one stop Boeing 737-200 jets to New York
LaGuardia Airport via Norfolk, and also nonstop
NAMC YS-11 turboprops to Washington
National Airport but was no longer serving the airport by the fall of 1979.
Allegheny Commuter had replaced Allegheny jet service by this same time in 1979 with
code sharing flights then being operated with small commuter
Beechcraft and
Short 330 turboprop aircraft. The airport led the nation in air service decline after deregulation and was facing severe financial difficulty. The turnaround began with the hiring of Charles J. Blankenship as executive director in 1984. Blankenship implemented a strategic plan of developing a business park named Patrick Henry Commerce Center and a marketing campaign to attract air carriers. By 1985 the airport had the distinction of being America's fastest-growing airport. That success was repeated in 1986. On December 19, 1980, the
Daily Press reported a committee authorized by the PAC recommended that the airport change its name to "Newport News/Williamsburg International" to then-Executive Director Michael White. This change would not take place until ten years later. At the time, the Commission members represented the cities of Newport News, Hampton, and
Williamsburg, as well as James City County and York County. Since 2010, the Commission consists of six commissioners who are appointed by the cities of Hampton (2) and Newport News (4). In 1985
USAir (later renamed
US Airways) added
McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30 and
British Aircraft Corporation BAC One-Eleven jets from
Pittsburgh and Washington, DC
Dulles Airport and by late 1989 these flights were the only jet service at the airport. In the fall of 1989,
Emerald Air was operating
Douglas DC-9-10 jets nonstop from
Orlando twice a week. In the spring of 1995, USAir was operating DC-9-30 as well as
Fokker F28 Fellowship jets into the airport with nonstop flights from
Charlotte and Pittsburgh; however, this jet service was then discontinued later in 1995.
US Airways Express (replaced later by
American Eagle following the merger of
American Airlines and
US Airways) later served
Philadelphia and
Charlotte from the airport.
AirTran started jet service from the airport to
Atlanta in 1995, but pulled out in March 2012. In 1999, AirTran was serving the airport with four daily nonstop flights from Atlanta operated with
McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30 jets. In January 2011
Delta Air Lines introduced two more daily flights to Atlanta on 142-seat
McDonnell Douglas MD-88s for a total of four flights a day. Delta service with
Airbus A320s began later in the year and in 2012 Delta replaced its early morning
Bombardier CRJ900 regional jet departure to Atlanta with mainline
McDonnell Douglas MD-80 service.
Frontier Airlines began nonstop service from Newport News in 2010 as the airport was finishing a $23 million renovation. Initial service included four direct flights a week to Denver with 128-seat
Airbus A318s, replaced within weeks with larger
Airbus A319 jets. Beginning May 13, 2011, Frontier flights were operated with 162-seat
Airbus A320s; as of September 12, 2011, Frontier was operating seasonal service. On February 4, 2012, PAC announced that Frontier would resume year-round flights operating daily effective May 22 through Labor Day that year. After Labor Day, Frontier planned to operate six days per week. However, on January 6, 2015, Frontier Airlines withdrew all services from Newport News.
Allegiant Airlines also began jet service to the airport with flights to Orlando
Sanford Airport but then ceased serving the airport by 2012. Concourse A opened in May 2010 as the airport's second concourse. Concourse A is designed with a full-service customs facility for larger jets. A local contractor donated $50,000 worth of labor and materials to expand the airport's USO office in 2010, doubling it in size to better serve military personnel.
Elite Airways announced intention to begin service with flights from PHF to Myrtle Beach, SC in 2018, but scrapped the plans due to doubts and concerns about airport operations following the failure of a reincarnation of
People Express Airlines (2010s) (which was based in Newport News and attempted to operate a small hub at the airport with
Boeing 737-400 jets) and multiple investigations into the airport as well as a perceived lack of passenger demand.
Decline in service (2012–present) (
USAF version of the
Boeing 757-200) landing at Newport News/Williamsburg International On March 9, 2012, PHF's longtime largest airline
AirTran Airways ceased operations at the airport due to their merger with
Southwest Airlines (which was already serving nearby
Norfolk International Airport). Passenger count declined in 2012 after the departure of AirTran, with layoffs at the airport announced in May 2012 including police officers, all police dispatchers and other staff. The airport is home to three Fixed-Base operators: Rick Aviation, Atlantic Aviation and Orion Air Group, which are now Tempus Jets. In January 2013, Mid Atlantic Aviation was also located at the airport, as well as Epix Aviation. Rick and Atlantic provide flight instruction schools, and jet fuel services to private and commercial airplanes. Atlantic Aviation handles international chartered flights. Rick Aviation continues to operate inside the original passenger terminal, sharing space with Denbigh High School's Aviation Academy (serving over 350 high school students). As Orion Air Group opened a new world headquarters facility which will employ 100 people; they are already planning an additional expansion. Additionally, in 2011 Tidewater Flight Center opened a second location at the airport, providing flight instruction from the original terminal building. Also sharing the original terminal building is a local squadron of the Civil Air Patrol, which maintains several CAP airplanes at the airport. Newport News–Williamsburg is the first airport in the nation to undergo a sustainability project, to incorporate green technology in every facet of operations. In January 2014, Concourse A began to add a Federal Inspection Station and fully implement a U.S. Customs processing facility. In 2020, additional administrative staff members were laid off from positions due to declining revenue and impacts from the
COVID-19 pandemic. In May 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Delta suspended its thrice daily service to Atlanta. Delta has announced no plans to restore the flights. In July 2022,
Avelo Airlines announced new service from the airport. The airline began flights to Orlando and Fort Lauderdale in October 2022. However, in February 2023, Avelo Airlines announced it would be ending its service at the airport starting April 16, 2023, leaving American Airlines as the sole carrier servicing the airport. The decline in service and passenger volume created a challenging financial environment for the airport. Between 2022 and 2023, the airport reported $4.2 million in financial losses, with public funding required to keep it financially solvent. A June 2024 report recommended a transition away from commercial air service and reorienting efforts to attracting advanced aerospace research and development facilities. ==Airline and destination==