Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport is in Newport News, Virginia, United States, and serves the Hampton Roads area along with Norfolk International Airport in Norfolk. The airport is owned and operated by the Peninsula Airport Commission, a political subdivision of the Commonwealth of Virginia. PHF covers 1,800 acres (728 ha). In 2019, the airport handled about 431,077 passengers. The loss of dominant air carrier AirTran in 2012 and competition from low-cost airlines at Richmond International Airport have led to more than a 60% reduction in the annual number of passengers at PHF since 2011. History 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