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VIENNA -- The Mahoning Valley's two U.S. House members are trying to get the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport designated as a "primary airport" in order to make it eligible for additional federal maintenance funding.
When the Vienna airport lost its last commercial air service, Allegiant Air, in January 2018, the Federal Aviation Administration removed the primary airport designation. The Western Reserve Port Authority, which runs the airport, hasn't been able to get another commercial airline to come to the location.
Youngstown-Warren is the only commercial airport in the country with an air reserve station that doesn't have commercial air service.
The legislation introduced Monday by U.S. Reps. Bill Johnson, whose district includes Mahoning and Columbiana counties, and Dave Joyce, whose district includes Trumbull County, where the airport is located, is only one sentence long.
It seeks to amend the United States Code by adding under the public airports with military use section: "Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a public airport in use by an air reserve station shall be considered a primary airport for purpose of this chapter."
Johnson, R-Marietta, and then-U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Howland, introduced identical legislation in March 2022 that didn't get a vote in Congress.
Because Youngstown-Warren isn't designated as a primary airport by the FAA, it misses out on some federal funding for maintenance even though the adjacent Youngstown Air Reserve Station uses the runways. The airport also is used by private, charter and corporate airplanes.
Johnson said getting the designation will help the port authority maintain the facility, help the 910th Airlift Wing at YARS and possibly attract a commercial airline.
"Our region would greatly benefit from this designation," he said.
Getting the status, Joyce, R-Bainbridge, said, would "help bolster economic growth, increase military readiness and fulfill critical infrastructure needs on the airbase."