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State College Regional Airport
Airport in Pennsylvania, U.S. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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State College Regional Airport, (IATA: SCE, ICAO: KUNV, FAA LID: UNV) – formerly University Park Airport – is a public airport in Benner Township, Centre County, Pennsylvania, serving State College and Bellefonte. The airport covers 1,105 acres (447 ha) and has one active runway.
The airport is owned by The Pennsylvania State University, but the terminal building and parking areas are owned and operated by the Centre County Airport Authority.[3] It is currently served by United Express and American Eagle, connecting to hubs in Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Illinois.
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History
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In the 1950s a small airport was built on land leased from Penn State, just north of State College. The Centre County Airport Authority was created to manage the development of the airport. The October 1959 chartshows 2350-foot runway 6; the August 1965 chart shows 3000 feet; the November 1967 chart adds 2350-foot runway 16. (The intersection of those two 50-foot runways is still visible at 40.8492°N 77.85315°W). The present runway was built parallel to the old runway 6 about 1975–76; it was then 5000 feet long.
In 1965 Harrisburg Commuter began flights from State College to Harrisburg, two flights each weekday; the 1965 Official Airlines Guide does not state which airport they served, but starting in 1978 Allegheny Commuter flights were at University Park. Penn State assumed the lease and assets of the airport in 1972.[4] A permanent passenger terminal was built in 1985. A new passenger terminal was completed in 1993, and cargo operations moved to the old terminal. In 1997 the runway was lengthened to 6,701 ft (2,042 m).[5] A new general aviation hangar was built in 2001.[6]
Construction on the control tower began on January 8, 2010[7] and was completed in early August 2011. The Airport Traffic Control Tower (ATCT) went operational on September 1, 2011, and is operated by Midwest Air Traffic Control under the Federal Contract Tower Program.
According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, There were 130,000 enplanements in 2024, making State College Regional Airport the 6th busiest airport in Pennsylvania, after Wilkes Barre/Scranton (AVP), Allentown/Lehigh Valley (ABE), Harrisburg (MDT), Pittsburgh (PIT), and Philadelphia (PHL).[8]
On November 3, 2023, the Centre County Airport Authority announced that University Park Airport had been renamed State College Regional Airport.[9][10]
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Services
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The Centre County Airport Authority owns and operates the commercial airline terminal. The terminal consists of a snack bar, free Wi-Fi, charging stations for mobile devices, and a conference room. Taxi, limousine services, and car rentals are available. The airport does not have jet bridges, and all aircraft board from ground-level hardstands. However, there are plans to add two boarding bridges in the future.[11] The airport will be submitting an application for a grant from the FAA in Summer 2025 for the boarding bridge project. If approved, they hope to begin construction in Spring 2026.[12]
Penn State University fixed-base operator (FBO) offers fuel, flight planning services, aircraft repair, and hangar rental.
Airlines that operate to each destination are listed below:
- Piedmont Airlines operates American Eagle service to Philadelphia.
- CommuteAir and Republic Airways operate United Express service to Washington, DC.
- GoJet Airlines, Republic Airways, and SkyWest Airlines operate United Express service to Chicago.
As of August 2025, there are 3 daily flights to Washington-Dulles, 4 daily flights to Philadelphia, and 3-4 daily flights to Chicago. According to flight scheduling, United will add a fourth daily flight to Washington starting on October 26, 2025 and will add a fifth daily flight to Chicago starting October 27, 2025.
United currently flies from State College to Chicago O'Hare and Washington Dulles with daily service aboard Bombardier CRJ-200's and CRJ-550's and Embraer 145 and 175 regional aircraft.
United Airlines will offer nonstop service between State College and Columbus for the Penn State at Ohio State football game on November 1, 2025. The one time offering will depart State College on October 31 and will return on November 2. GoJet Airlines will service this route as United Express utilizing a CRJ-550 aircraft. [13]
United Airlines offered service between Dallas Fort Worth and State College on December 20, 2024 and December 22, 2024 for the SMU at Penn State college football playoff game at Beaver Stadium. Republic Airways serviced this route under the United Express brand deploying an Embraer 175 aircraft.[14]
United Airlines cut Washington Dulles service and added service to Newark in March 2022[15] to "closely match supply with demand" amid labor and aircraft shortages. This was a temporary shift, and in June 2024,[16] Washington Dulles service was reinstated and Newark service was discontinued.
Delta Air Lines operated between State College and Detroit until January 8, 2023 when the service was replaced[17] with service to New York LaGuardia. Delta later suspended service from State College to New York LaGuardia on June 5, 2023, citing personnel shortages.[18]
American currently flies from State College to Philadelphia with daily service aboard Embraer 145 aircraft.
American Eagle operated twice daily service to Chicago from April 2019 to November 2023.[19]
Allegiant Air operated 2-4 flights per week to Orlando-Sanford and St. Petersburg/Clearwater from October 2019 to May 2022 using Airbus A319 and A320 aircraft. Allegiant suspended all service at State College due to "labor and demand constraints affecting the entire airline industry" in May 2022.[20]
Other Offerings
Flixbus has a stop at State College Regional Airport with service from New York City to Chicago.[21]
Private aircraft are serviced by fixed-base operator Penn State Aviation Center.[22]
Tech Aviation Flight School is located at the T-Hangars.
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Facilities
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Runways
State College Regional Airport features one active runway.[23] The end closest to Rock Road is Runway 24, bearing a magnetic heading of 243 degrees. Runway 24 is equipped with an instrument landing system (ILS) and is used as the primary landing and departing runway. Runway 6 is used as a visual runway; however, infrastructure has been considered to improve satellite-based approaches.[23] Runway 16 and 34 was formerly used for general aviation but was closed.[23]
Aircraft
State College Regional Airport regularly operates the Bombardier CRJ family, Embraer ERJ145s, and Embraer E175s. American Eagle operates the Embraer 145 to Philadelphia. United Express operates the Embraer 145 and the Embraer 175 to Washington Dulles. United Express operates Chicago service on the CRJ-200, the CRJ-550, and the Embraer 175. De Havilland Canada Dash 8s were common until their replacement by the regional jets. Cessna 208 Caravans are operated by Mountain Air Cargo contracted under FedEx Express cargo flights. Wiggins services Pittsburgh International Airport. Geisinger operates an Airbus H145 helicopter as a LifeFlight service. The airport sees numerous general aviation aircraft; Piper PA-28 Cherokees and business jets are common, while larger aircraft up to Boeing 757s can be seen as charter jets along with members of the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 families.[24]
Airlines and destinations
Passenger
Cargo
Statistics
Top destinations
Top Destinations (June 2024 - May 2025)[30]
- Chicago (37.2%)
- Philadelphia (36.1%)
- Washington (25.4%)
- Newark (1.25%)
- Dallas/Fort Worth (0.05%)
Carrier shares
Annual traffic
Annual Available Seat Miles (ASMs)
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Military
State College Regional Airport is home to Civil Air Patrol Nittany Composite Squadron PA-338.[32] The squadron operates a Cessna 182 Skylane registered as N848CP.
The United States Army and Air National Guard occasionally fly Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters and Lockheed C-130 Hercules aircraft into UNV for training missions. Aircraft such as the F/A-18 Hornet and A-10 Thunderbolt II have staged at the airport to participate in flyovers of Beaver Stadium.[33]
U.S. Presidents have flown into UNV aboard Boeing C-32s operating as Air Force One.[34]
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See also
References
External links
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