The Susquehanna Area Regional Airport Authority (SARAA) is the governing authority of

Harrisburg International Airport Harrisburg International Airport is a public airport in Middletown, Pennsylvania, nine miles (15 km) southeast of Harrisburg. It is owned by the Susquehanna Area Regional Airport Authority., effective September 16, 2022 The airport code ...

Franklin County Regional Airport Franklin County Regional Airport , formerly known as Chambersburg Municipal Airport, is a general aviation airport located three miles (5 km) north of the Borough of Chambersburg, in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, USA. The airport is sit ...

and Gettysburg Regional Airport in south-central

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. SARAA was incorporated on September 9, 1997, and officially took over control of HIA and CXY airports from the

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...

on January 1, 1998.

History

SARAA was the culmination of an effort that began in the 1990s by the counties of

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic counties of England, historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th c ...

, Dauphin,

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

and the cities of

Harrisburg Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the 9th largest city and 15th largest municipality in ...

and

. The counties and cities placed a major emphasis on air transportation that led to a study of the aviation needs of the region. In 1996, the results of the study led to the formation of the Airport Divestiture Group (ADG, chaired by Robert F. Frazier) to negotiate the divestiture of both

(HIA) and Capital City Airport (CXY) from the

Pennsylvania Department of Transportation The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) oversees transportation issues in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The administrator of PennDOT is the Pennsylvania Secretary of Transportation, currently Yassmin Gramian. Presently, Pe ...

, Bureau of Aviation to an independent regional entity. The recipient of these airports was the Susquehanna Area Regional Airports Authority (SARAA, initially chaired by Frazier) which assumed title to, and operation of, the initial pair of airports (HIA and CXY) on and after January 1, 1998. In 2004, the Franklin County Regional Airport, located near

Chambersburg, Pennsylvania Chambersburg is a borough in and the county seat of Franklin County, in the South Central region of Pennsylvania, United States. It is in the Cumberland Valley, which is part of the Great Appalachian Valley, and north of Maryland and the ...

was bought by the airport authority. SARAA now operates four airports in the greater Harrisburg metropolitan area. On August 25, 2006, SARAA acquired the Gettysburg Regional Airport (GRA), formerly identified as the Gettysburg Airport and Travel Center. GRA opened in 1926 and had been a privately operated

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...

service airport. It is located on roughly just outside Gettysburg,

Adams County, Pennsylvania Adams County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 103,852. Its county seat is Gettysburg. The county was created on January 22, 1800, from part of York County, and was named for the sec ...

References

External links

SARAA Official homepage

Harrisburg International Airport homepage
(HIA)
Capital City Airport homepage
(CXY)
Franklin County Regional Airport homepage
(FCRA)
Gettysburg Regional Airport
(GRA) {{authority control Transportation in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Municipal authorities in Pennsylvania Airport operators of the United States Transportation in Franklin County, Pennsylvania Transportation in Adams County, Pennsylvania Transportation in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania

History

See also

References

External links