Early history Rockingham and
Augusta counties and the cities of
Harrisonburg,
Waynesboro and Staunton formed a commission to build a regional airport in the 1950s. Construction was completed in 1958; the 4000-foot runway was extended to after a few years, and to by 1970.
Piedmont Airlines DC-3s arrived in 1960; the last Piedmont YS-11 left in 1981. The commuter terminal was enlarged by and lounge space, secure areas, and concession areas were added. The Commission decided that a private company, Classic Aviation Services Inc., would provide aircraft maintenance services at the airport. A regional visitor information center was added to the airport in 1996. The
Transportation Security Administration took over security screening at the airport in August 2002. In September 2003 the airport was awarded a $100,000 federal grant to add on-demand ground transportation within
Rockingham County and
Augusta County. Free bus service between the airport and Harrisonburg, Staunton, and Waynesboro began in March 2004. Bus stops included
James Madison University,
Eastern Mennonite University, and a
Courtyard by Marriott in Harrisonburg. A $2.9 million federal grant to repair the airport's taxiway was awarded in July 2005. The airport repaired its transient aircraft aprons with a $1.2 million federal grant in 2009. The airport completed a $2 million project to add seating and lobby space for passengers, add space for security inspectors, add modern restrooms compliant with the
Americans With Disabilities Act, and replace its 50-year-old mechanical and utility systems. The airport received a $1.6 million federal grant to buy two snow removal vehicles and an airport fire-rescue vehicle in August 2016.
Airline service Chatauqua Airlines ran
US Airways Express' connector service between Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport and
Pittsburgh International Airport from July 1996 to June 2000.
United Express began service between Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport and
Washington Dulles International Airport in April 2000. United Express service at the airport ended in December 2001.
Air Midwest offered
US Airways Express' connector service between Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport and Pittsburgh International Airport in June 2000. Its service ended in April 2003.
Colgan Air began offering US Airways Express' connector service between Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport and Pittsburgh International Airport in April 2003, The service to Pittsburgh ended in July 2004 when
US Airways downgraded Pittsburgh's status from a
hub to a
focus city. US Airways Express restarted service between Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport and Washington Dulles International Airport in April 2005. Colgan Air started offering service between Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport and Washington Dulles International Airport in February 2008. In 2011
Roanoke's representative to
Congress Bob Goodlatte advocated ending a federal subsidy program called
Essential Air Service that made it financially viable for private airlines to offer service to small airports such as Shenandoah Valley. In 2012 Colgan Air ended service to Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport after the carrier's parent company declared bankruptcy in 2012. The service was replaced by
Silver Airways in July 2012. Silver Airways' service to the airport ended in November 2016.
Frontier Airlines began service between Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport and
Orlando International Airport in November 2012. The service was canceled in April 2013.
ViaAir began flights between Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport and
Charlotte-Douglas International Airport in September 2016. SkyWest ended service in November 2022. The
U.S. Department of Transportation awarded
Contour Airlines, a partner of
American Airlines, a three-year contract to operate service at Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport as part of the Essential Air Service program from November 1, 2022, to October 31, 2025. On September 19, 2025, the U.S. Department of Transportation selected
SkyWest Airlines to provide service from Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport as part of the Essential Air Service program. SkyWest Airlines has a
codeshare agreement with American Airlines. According to SkyWest Airlines' proposal, it will provide 12 roundtrip flights per week from the airport to Charlotte and
Chicago O'Hare between November 1, 2025, and October 31, 2029.
Accidents and incidents • On September 23, 1985,
Henson Airlines Flight 1517 was on approach to the airport when it crashed due to
pilot error leading to a
CFIT. All 14 people on board the flight died. ==Airline and destinations==