Altoona-Blair County Airport reports decreased enplanements

End of Myrtle Beach route contributes to 18% drop

MARTINSBURG -- Enplanements at the Altoona-Blair County Airport were down 18% due to Contour Airlines' Myrtle Beach route ending, airport manager Tracy Plessinger said during Wednesday's airport authority board meeting, noting enplanements were up 9% from September 2025.

Contour carried 1,813 passengers outbound and inbound in September at the airport, Plessinger said, adding the airline's overall completion rate last month was 100%, and the airport is still on track to reach 11,000 enplanements by the year's end.

La Fiesta sales for September were down 19% from August and down 8% from September 2025, Plessinger said.

Plessinger said Coffee Coop's sales were down 22% from both August and September 2025.

Although Avis/Budget's sales were down 11% from August, they were up 11% year over year, Plessinger said.

Avis/Budget Manager Nick Bechtel said September was "an excellent month" for the airport's rental vehicle sales, noting the airport matched its all-time volume record of 238 rental vehicles sold, averaging just under eight rentals per day.

"September contained three Penn State home games, providing us a significant boost of rentals," Bechtel said in his report, adding the airport's fleet is currently in the 60-vehicle range.

That's creating an abundant amount of availability for the airport, Bechtel said.

"During the busy weekends, we were able to maintain full availability, with the ability to cover all demand," Bechtel said. "Month over month, we noticed a steadier flow of one-way rentals, adding to our overall volume."

Plessinger said the start of the airport's terminal restroom remodel project, which was supposed to begin today, has been delayed "by a little bit" because the contractor didn't correctly fill out their application with the Federal Aviation Administration.

According to Plessinger, everything the airport does as part of the remodel has to be in compliance with the Build America, Buy America Act. There's two levels to that, he said, adding the airport can either be 100% compliant or request a waiver that allows for 60% of their products to be made in America.

"The problem is that the contractor checked on their application that they're going to be 100% compliant. Well, they can't," Plessinger said, adding the hooks people use to hang their coats on restroom stalls aren't made in America.

"In the countertop, you can cut a hole and put a chrome ring with a garbage can under it to throw towels away. That chrome ring isn't made in America and it has to be made in America," Plessinger said. "So, we're going back and forth with the contractor. If they had just filled out the paperwork correctly, it would've been fine."

In other business, the board tabled an agreement with WTAJ-TV and Discover Blair County for placement of a camera on the airport's roof.

The two-year agreement includes the placement of the camera, which would reportedly show Contour's jet at the airport every morning on the news, and additional advertising with the television news station.

Plessinger said the nice thing about the agreement is WTAJ-TV is the primary station that serves State College. So, airport officials could spread the word about the airport's free parking and cheaper flights to Charlotte in that area, he said.

"The townships down there have outlawed billboards, but this is one way we could get into it," Plessinger said.

Board Chairman Drew Swope suggested tabling the item until next month, citing concerns with the agreement's price tag.

According to Plessinger, Discover Blair County would cover half of the $30,000 agreement, and Contour would pay half of the airport's $15,000 contribution.

Swope said he did not want to sign off on the agreement yet and directed Plessinger to see whether Contour would pick up the full $15,000, noting Contour would "reap the benefits" of having the camera and advertising.

"It seems like a lot of money for advertising, and I'm not sure for what," Swope said.

While the camera would be a nice thing to have, board member Mike Ritchey said the word is already out about the airport's subsidized flights and "people know about us now."

Swope said he agrees, noting the airport authority needs to look at what they're spending on advertising and determine whether the camera would be a worthwhile investment.

"We have to look at what we're spending and not get tricked by that," Swope said. "We've got to look carefully at it because the product is selling itself, and we might be at the saturation of it anyhow."

Mirror Staff Writer Matt Churella is at 814-946-7520.