Charlottesville–Albemarle Airport (IATA: CHO, ICAO: KCHO, FAALID: CHO) is a public use airport located 7 nautical miles (13 km) north of Charlottesville, in Albemarle County, Virginia, United States. It has operated commercial flights since 1955 and serves the Charlottesville/Albemarle region and surrounding counties with 46 daily non-stop flights to seven major cities on four different airlines' subsidiares.[2] CHO underwent major construction in summer 2006 as well as an 800-foot runway expansion that began in summer 2010 and was completed in December 2012.[3][4][5]
On August 20, 2013, Las Vegas based Allegiant Air announced that they would begin non-stop jet service from Charlottesville to Orlando–Sanford International Airport beginning on November 21, 2013. Allegiant would fly twice a week to and from Charlottesville utilizing their fleet of MD-88 jet aircraft.[9]
As of January 31, 2014, Allegiant airlines announced that they would be ending service between Charlottesville and Orlando-Sanford on February 23, 2014. An Allegiant spokesperson says the service fell victim to low demand.[10]
Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport covers an area of 610 acres (247 ha) at an elevation of 640 feet (195 m) above mean sea level. It has one runway designated 3/21 with an asphalt surface measuring 6,801 by 150 feet (2,073 m × 46 m).[1]
The airport has a 60,000 sq ft (6,000 m2) terminal with on-site rental cars, ground transportation, and food service and gifts from "The Market" Gourmet Deli & Gift Shop.[2]General aviation facilities include an executive terminal offering a full-service by the fixed base operator, Landmark Aviation, flight schools, emergency medical transportation provided by the UVA Hospital'sPegasus service[11] and aircraft charter firms.
For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2011, the airport had 69,594 aircraft operations, an average of 190 per day: 72% general aviation, 22% air taxi, 6% military, and <1% scheduled commercial. At that time there were 68 aircraft based at this airport: 72% single-engine, 16% jet, 10% multi-engine, and 2% helicopter.[1]